The Minnesota Wild roster got a shake-up on Wednesday afternoon when high-scoring forward Kevin Fiala was traded to the Los Angeles Kings after contract negotiations fell short.
Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin joined News Talk 830 WCCO’s Vineeta Sawkar to discuss the trade.
Guerin shared that it is never easy to trade away a 30-plus goal scorer, but with the current cap situation, retaining him just wasn’t an option.
“It’s always difficult, and you know Kevin is a very good player, and he had an amazing year,” Guerin said. “We wish we could keep him, but we made some decisions not that long ago that’s preventing us from doing that.”
The decisions that Guerin mentioned came last summer when the club bought out the remainder of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter’s mega contracts, straining the Wild’s spending abilities.
But, Guerin isn’t hanging his head as he shared, “we’re happy with the deal that we made.”
That deal that sends Fiala to Los Angeles sees Minnesota receive a first-round pick in next week’s draft and NHL defensive prospect and Maple Grove native Brock Faber.
“We think Brock is really close. It’s nice that he’s right down the road, we can keep a close eye on him,” Guerin said. “He’s under good care [at the University of Minnesota] with Bob Motzko. We’re really happy with the deal.”
Faber, who was the Big Ten Defensemen of the Year last season and recently named team captain of the Gophers, has said that he plans on playing college hockey next year, and when it comes to any thought on calling him up next season, Guerin says “absolutely not.”
“He’s committed to the University of Minnesota,” Guerin said. “ We would never do that to a player. We respect the player’s decision. We respect Bob, and the program. We actually think it’s a great decision.”
Guerin said that it is important for a player’s development not to take the jump before they are ready. Faber getting a chance to be the captain, play big minutes, and fight for an NCAA Championship will help him become a better professional hockey player.
When it comes to replacing the scoring power of Fiala in the lineup, Guerin said honestly that “I don’t know that you do.”
“It might take two guys to replace that scoring,” Guerin said. “We just don’t know, and it will be difficult…but we can’t really worry about that, and we just have to put the guys on the ice and see what they can do.”
The 2022 NHL Prospect Draft is next Thursday, and when it comes to who the Wild will select when they are on the clock at pick number 19, Guerin says they will focus on getting the best player available.
“When you’re drafting, you take the best player,” Guerin said.
As for the pending free agency and unsigned players like Marc Andre Fleury and Jacob Middleton, Guerin shared they have had preliminary talks with their agents and are hopeful they can get some deals done.
“We’re really hoping to bring them back,” Guerin said.
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