Hate to lose Brodin but I do like this return.

How is Heponiemi struggling ?
He's 148 lbs adjusting to small ice
he'll need time to pack on some muscle is all

i mean by your logic Primeau's adjusting to pro hockey less gracefully then expected , does that mean we give him away with our 1st for a mediocre D prospect ?

Brodin is a player every team has atleast 1 of and about the easiest to find in the draft a LHD who blocks shots and puts up 15-20 points at 20 -21 minutes on ice . Throw a stone and you'll hit a dozen players like this .

MTL signed one for 3.5m because WPG who had the cap after their dcore blew up but chose not to pay him because they felt they had more guys like him in their depth charts who could step up .

Bad take. Brodin is fantastic. Watch him, then retract your statement and put out a fresh statement.

Are you actually dumb enough to compare Jonas Brodin with Ben Chiarot??? You need to study up, or go away forever!

Primeau is a goalie and goalies generally have a much longer development curve and adjusting period than a forward, so I don't think it's fair to compare the two. And where are you getting the idea of trading Primeau and a 1st for a mediocre D prospect? That is out of left field... anyways, Heponiemi has 1 goal and 9 assists in 36 AHL games as a highly skilled offensive forward. I don't know how else to put that than "struggling". I never said he can't turn it around, which is why I'd like the Wild to target him, but to question the fact that he is struggling is puzzling to me. He is a playmaker and would do best with a goal scorer like he had in the WJC a year ago and the Iowa Wild have AHL superstar Gerry Mayhew who has 31 goals in 39 AHL games. Putting Heponiemi with a guy like that could spark some playmaking development for Heponiemi at the AHL level.

You clearly haven't watched Brodin play, so I'll throw this quote at you from The Athletic:

"Evolving Hockey has Brodin's even-strength defense rated as second-best in the league. Brodin’s lack of numbers has hurt his trade value in the past. But as analytics are becoming more advanced — and teams are embracing them more and more — Brodin’s play is becoming easier and easier to quantify. And most signs point to Brodin being a top-pairing defenseman in the NHL. In three of the past four seasons, Brodin has been a top-30 defenseman in Wins Above Replacement (19th this season, ninth in 2017-18, 29th in 2016-17). Cumulatively, he’s 12th among all defensemen in that span with 6.9 total WAR. It’s impossible to dismiss him because of his low scoring — the data is there, and it shows that Brodin is as valuable as they come. And the smartest front offices know it."

I keep thinking about this trade...

One one side of the coin, Heponiemi could be the perfect play-making center to compliment Kaprizov. If both were to pan out, they could do some crazy things together! Throw Fiala (or maybe Boldy) on that line and it would be (on paper) the most talented line in Wild history...easily! On the other side of the coin, I can’t help but worry about how teeny tiny he is. Could he possibly bulk up to 175 pounds? Or, instead of Fiala or Boldy, maybe the Wild could find/develop a Foligno-type to play with him and Kaprizov to offer some protection and create space? Now I’m just thinking out loud... it’s too enticing and intriguing to pass up - I’ve just convinced myself.
Another reason just popped into my head... in today’s hockey you need players who can get through the neutral zone like Granlund did and now Fiala does. Heponiemi would flourish in that role!
Sorry for my rambling dissertation...let’s make this happen!

The size is obviously an issue with Heponiemi, but as you said if he could bulk up (say 20-30 lbs) over the course of a year or two, he really wouldn't be that small. Another thing, I've read that Heponiemi hardly ever needs to use strength because he's so supremely skilled and can avoid those situations. I'd love to pry this guy away from Florida if we could... He's also a natural center despite his small size.

I read that twice after you posted this scenario. I wouldn’t have even considered the trade before, but the article was pretty thorough and convincing. I would still feel better if he was putting up better numbers in the AHL, but he’s only 20...