Minnesota Wild finally starting to shake things up

General manager Paul Fenton had not made any major moves thus far as Minnesota Wild general manager, but Thursday’s trade of Nino Niederreiter is a move in an overdue direction.

Since taking over as Minnesota Wild general manager after Chuck Fletcher was fired, Paul Fenton has not made any significant moves. But after a small trade Wednesday night, Thursday brought a deal sending winger Nino Niederreiter to the Carolina Hurricanes for center Victor Rask.

After setting career-highs in goals (25), assists (32) and points (57) during the 2016-17 season, Niederreiter had 32 points in 63 games last season and he’s been worse in 46 games so far this season (23 points, -11 plus-minus). Of his 27 goals over the last season and-a half or so, 10 have come on the power play, so that’s a positive.

Rask is also at a down point in his value, with just six points in 26 games for the Hurricanes so far this year. But he had seasons of 48 and 45 points as a 22 and 23-year old (2016-16 and 2016-17), and his shooting percentage has fallen off a cliff this year (4.0 percent; 11.1 percent in 2017-18; 8.6 percent in 2016-17).

The Wild are getting a bit younger, as Rask is 25 (26 on March 1) and Niederreiter is 26 (27 on Sept. 8). They’re also saving a little bit of money over the next few years.

The dual 13-year, $98 million deals Zach Parise and Ryan Suter got back in July of 2012 will necessarily hamstring the Wild. Fletcher was more than willing to make trades, but they rarely worked out and he never touched an underachieving core group of players. The move to unload Niederreiter, and bet a little on Rask recapturing some of his prior form with a change of scenery, should be the first of multiple moves to come.

In Niederreiter’s place, despite the fact he’s playing well at center, Charlie Coyle is in line to move back over to right wing. Coyle himself could also be on the move at some point, with center Eric Staal, winger Jason Zucker and winger Mikael Granlund also standing as potential trade candidates looking toward the deadline.

As it sits right now, the Wild have a flimsy hold on the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. But they haven’t played particularly well lately, with bad losses to the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers over the last week heading into Thursday night against the reeling Anaheim Ducks (12 losses in a row, four in overtime). Overall inconsistency has been a thing again this year.

The Wild have consistently made the playoffs, albeit with regular first-round exits. They’ve never been good enough to be a legit Stanley Cup contender, or bad enough to get a high draft pick and land a player like Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel.

The player mix hasn’t been working for awhile in Minnesota. The Niederreiter deal shows Fenton, after rightly showing a bit of patience, is ready to do something about it.