Wild’s biggest mistake at 2026 NHL trade deadline

Originally posted on NHL on ClutchPoints
By Nate Duffett, ClutchPoints | Last updated Mar 9, 2026 10:27 PM ET

The Minnesota Wild made one mistake at the trade deadline, but that doesn’t mean Bill Guerin’s plan was a disaster. In fact, if it wasn’t for the Colorado Avalanche’s late acquisition of Nazem Kadri, Guerin’s team might’ve been on ClutchPoints’ list of deadline winners. However, the Avalanche won the center’s sweepstakes, and not only is it a massive win for that team, but it could also prove costly for Minnesota.

Guerin got a little bit too cute with it at the deadline by acquiring Nick Foligno from the Chicago Blackhawks. It’ll create a great story if he can win a Stanley Cup with his brother, Marcus Foligno, but the $4.5 million they’ll use for Nick toward the salary cap could have been used in a much different way.

With salary retention factored in, Kadri is only going to cost the Avalanche $1.2 million more than Foligno on the Wild. It took until the final minutes for the Avalanche to negotiate the deal for Kadri, which left the door open for another team to swoop in and steal him. One has to wonder what the Wild would’ve looked like with Kadri down the middle in the top six, instead of adding Foligno to play a likely fourth-line role.

A possible Kadri acquisition did have some flaws for Guerin. One, Kadri had a modified no-trade clause that might’ve left Minnesota out of the running. It also seemed like the center only had eyes for the Avalanche. Still, knowing his fiery nature, he might’ve been persuaded to go to another team once the initial negotiations fell through.

Wild shouldn’t have let the Avalanche get Nazem Kadri

The Wild pushed all their chips in the middle when they acquired Quinn Hughes earlier this season. By all accounts, Guerin was ready to finish the job and make another big splash to acquire a top-six center and really put their team over the top in the Central Division. Kadri is the type of two-way center that he should have been all over if he could have found a way to beat Colorado’s offer.

Instead, John Hynes is now left with Ryan Hartman and Joel Eriksson-Ek down the middle in the top-six. The Michael McCarron addition adds some depth to the bottom-six, but Hartman could’ve easily been one of his fourth-line wingers instead of Foligno. Kadri could’ve then centered a line with Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, which could’ve been a great playoff trio.

Guerin likes his gritty players, so it’s not overly surprising to see him happy with adding McCarron, Foligno, and even Bobby Brink, but that is also why it’s surprising the team wasn’t linked to Kadri more. For a team desperate for another center, the top center on the board didn’t have much of a connection to Minnesota.

The Wild isn’t going to have an easy time getting out of the Central Division in the playoffs. The addition of Kadri will likely push the Avalanche over the top in their goal of getting the first seed. If that’s the case, Minnesota will then have to go through the Dallas Stars in the first round before even getting a crack at Colorado.

Kadri already made an impact on Sunday afternoon with the Avalanche’s victory over the Wild. If he continues that trend in a possible playoff series between the two teams, Guerin could come to regret not making a bigger push to land Kadri or even another top-six center.

This article first appeared on NHL on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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