If he has a contract then he’s worth way more, period. Everyone keeps saying “Dvorak is worth more because he has term” so if Hertl comes with term through a sign and trade, he will cost significantly more, not a BS mid level pick that’s essentially worthless

To be honest no Boldy or Rossi no deal at this point

They are two entirely different situations. The reality of this situation is that Hertl doesn't have term, and it's not worth any more time pretending he does.



You're going to be incredibly disappointed by the return if you are expecting a prospect of that ilk, especially for a rental.

I'm not sure Guerin is 100% out on Eichel. I suspect he waits for the season to begin and then check back with Adams to see if he is ready to deal. I suspect at some point in the early season Guerin will pivot away from Eichel and look at what kind of deal Wilson is willing to do for Hertl. I think a player like Hertl probably commands a guy like Khusnutdinov, a 1st, a {cupcake dump, lol} cap dump like Rask, and a additional prospect like Hunt, Firstov, or someone else in that tier. If Guerin is willing to move Khusnutdinov he would need to be reasonably sure Hertl is more than a rental and that he might get term on his next deal but maybe not break the bank. I've heard his next contract will be 7.5 million 7-8 year term.

Im going to be incredibly disappointed if the sharks gift you a first line center yes of course why would I not be. The only way he should be traded is a haul

So if you don't get a Rossi or a Boldy, you refuse to move him and risk him walking for nothing?

I 100% get that, but to counterpoint that same argument, Kirill is gone basically at the end of the dead cap. So youre cutting your window short to 2 years basically. And in the same span as winning with Hertl and KK (if Hertl is acquired) - is a ton of your D man are gonna be much OLDER in 3-4 years and maybe not as good. Plus Boldy and Rossi (ELC's) can be used during this same spn (Boldy is basically ready it looks like - his ELC wont be around for much longer, whereas Rossi needs more time).

I just think that the Wild should be in a win now mode and move some money around (because that deadcap does hurt a ton).

if he tells SJ he’s not coming back, he’s getting traded. he has the power to limit trade to three teams, and he doesn’t have to agree to an extension with any team if he doesn’t want to. the sharks have very little leverage if hertl doesn’t intend on returning.

GMs haven't been willing to move that level of prospect for Eichel, so I don't see Hertl getting you one either. Check out what Khusnutdinov is doing in the KHL, I think you will be quite pleased getting a player of his caliber back in a trade.

I will never understand how someone can look at this fringe playoff team with 15M in dead cap and think it should be in win now mode. There is nothing about this team that indicates any sort of winning now.

If we don't do anything drastic (like trading for Hertl), we'll have plenty of prospects just hitting their prime in four years, and plenty more that were drafted between now and then. It does not start and end with Kaprizov.

as I said, I only say that because KK will be gone when the dead cap is gonna be up (not actually) but just about. I understand your viewpoint

Well they aren’t trading him for scraps and there are plenty of other teams that can be suitors for Hertl that can offer something of worth

It's not just Eichel. There could be a couple of other centers on the market near mid-season. Zibby is the player I'm keeping an eye on. I don't think it'll take much going wrong to make NYR into a seller by midseason.

Sure, you can get value for him, but you're not getting a Boldy or Rossi level piece, and there may not even be plenty of suitors when you take into account his NTC and the teams that are willing to pay that much to get him at the deadline. You may get like 1-3 serious suitors.

How much would it take going right for Minnesota to start buying rentals when Guerin has explicitly said numerous times he's not going to make moves that don't have an eye toward the future?

Trading prospects and picks for rentals doesn't seem like a future focused strategy. I think people need to give up on trading for the rental centers.

I'm sure you are right about Guerin being interested in multiple centers.
I'm not sure what to make of the Rangers, but I do know the Rangers owner is impatient and prone to knee jerk reactions so wouldn't be surprised if you are correct.

Why would he want to reject a trade to a team that would be in the playoffs and just stay on a San Jose team who isn’t contending? These trade lists are given way too much hype. He would rather have a chance at a cup than play meaningless hockey. Colorado, NYR and Vegas are three for starters.

The lesser playoff teams aren't going to be seriously interested, only the true contenders will be. And how many of those need centers like him? Vegas? Colorado, maybe?

So again, your "plenty of teams" is closer to 2 or 3. Not really the bidding war you're envisioning. Vegas isn't going to offer up Krebs. Colorado isn't offering up Newhook or Byram.

I think for this year a rental is looking towards the future. No cap implications beyond this year. It lets the Wild compete this year while keeping Rossi in the AHL all season and not burn a year of his ELC. There is open cap space.

I think it's a sit on the fence and wait to see where the team is after the Olympics before making any moves season. If things are looking very good for the team then it might be a year to go all in, because they won't have that same chance for a few years with all the dead cap. They could also be out of it and sell mode.

I still think last year should have been an all in season. There just wasn't anything on the market they needed to make that happen.

I like him, but hes not the guy that makes me trade Hertl now. If we have to take a first and a decent prospect at the deadline then we do it, but im not taking a minimal return right now

There is absolutely no way to spin it so that trading picks and prospects for a rental is looking to the future. Rossi's contract is not worth giving up pieces like a Khusnutdinov and a 1st or whatever else. There is no way to say it is.

FLA and BOS come to mind also. CHI could be a dark horse. I think SJS is better off waiting until the teams sort themselves out during the season to trade Hertl. OTT and SJS have both recently been bitten badly on big trades at/near the start of the season only to have it all go up in flames.

A 20's 1st, and a maybe 3C isn't a huge dent in the future, it's also not far from what it would cost to dump a bad contract. Rossi needing a big contract in a year when there is $14m in dead cap is a big deal. Don't burn his slide year needlessly (Dumba, JEE). Let's face it, if Rossi is just a decent center he'll be bloating his stats next to Kaprizov during his ELC.

For the 24-25 season MN has a $42m cap hit with only 4 players signed; that's less more TOR has tied up in Marner, Matthews, Nylander and JT.

It's easy to twist it I guess when you refer to a 1st and Khusnutdinov as a 20s 1st and a maybe 3C.

Let me try it: A lottery pick and a top 6 center.

I do too! It would be idiotic for the Wild to acquire any rental!