With the NHL Trade Deadline approaching, many are looking to the Minnesota Wild to see if they are buyers or sellers, as the club sits nine points back from the last wild card spot in the west.
Guerin spoke with News Talk 830 WCCO’s Chad Hartman on the eve of the deadline, appearing to show frustration over criticisms about the team not making any major moves.
“Who do you think I should trade?” Guerin asked Hartman. “Because I hear this a lot from you and your peers. You think it’s easy. Like you think you just go out and trade guys.”
He continued his point, putting it clearly: everyone is on the table.
“Listen, I’ll trade anybody if it’s going to make us better. If It’s going to help us win, I’ll trade anybody,” Guerin said.
When it comes to the behind-the-scenes actions Guerin has, he shared that he’s had “many” phone calls related to potential deals and trades, but he said that the team isn’t “even close to being down to the wire.”
“There’s still a long way to go,” Guerin said.
The club did make a minor move on Thursday acquiring a third-round selection in the 2026 NHL Draft from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for right-wing Brandon Duhaime.
Guerin addressed contracts on the team that include “no trade” clauses, saying that he hasn’t addressed any player who needs to give approval before a deal is made, saying he doesn’t want to trade them.
Still, Guerin says that the current focus for the front office is to look toward the future instead of loading up to salvage this season.
“The expectation is to continue to play hard. Continue to push,” Guerin said. “But you know what, I have to think about what’s best for the organization and the team long term.”
Describing this season as a “difficult year,” Guerin shared that despite the adversity they’ve faced with injuries, a coaching change, and more, he is working to ensure the organization is in the best position moving forward.
“We didn’t start the year well. Before the coaching change, we got too far, too deep into a hole, and it’s been really tough to dig ourselves out. We’ve had really good stretches, but it’s tough. This league is relentless now, and you can’t afford to have one or two series lapses like we’ve had,” Guerin said.
Guerin doubled down on his team’s core players, saying they’ve proven that when healthy and playing their game, they can “beat anybody and play with the top teams in the league.”
However, with the current cap situation, the general manager admitted that the team needs help.
“The one thing… we’ve really needed is health, and we didn’t have it,” Guerin said.