Wild block your number

Not enough quality or the right kind of pieces to make the Wild even consider a trade of JEE.

How about:

Podkolzin, Vasily
Kuzmenko, Andrei
Räty, Aatu
2024 1st round pick (VAN)
2024 6th round pick (SJS)

Without a legitimate 1C prospect in there, there is no way the Wild even entertains moving Ek imo. They are too weak at C already and he is their top C, regardless as to whether or not on most teams he'd be a 1B/2 (or as you have him 3C...oops!) It would take an egregious overpay to prise him out of Minnesota's clutches. It's not that the pieces aren't good but that they don't fit what the Wild would need to push them into a full on rebuild, albeit that's something they should have started years ago imo.

I like that, you're trying to temp Minnesota with a player named Kirill. It worked out well before.

The part that makes me laugh is adding in the 2024 6th round pick, like that's going to put a bad idea across as suddenly good. lmao

I guess my honest question is this: don't the Wild want to move off Ek's contract thru they're aggressive rebuild? He'll be 30+ once the ship turns.

Don't get me wrong it's probably better to trade him in the off-season once books clear up.

What aggressive rebuild? They literally just extended every single pending UFA they had that would have fetched them any meaningful assets. If they're not trading pending UFAs, why the %#$ would they trade a guy they have for 5 more seasons after this one? lol

They're still competing through the dead cap. They made the playoffs last year with a bunch of dead cap and let's be real, if they didn't have an absurd amount of injuries they'd probably be in a wild card spot now. As is, they're not far out of the playoffs currently. Note I said playoffs, not contending for a Cup. So no, they don't want to move off of a steal of a contract that will have a player still very much worth having in a couple years when they find themselves with an influx of ~$14m in cap space and a bunch of prospects that should be starting to contribute then. You absolutely keep JEEK for that reason. Worst case scenario, he starts to decline and you still have a solid checking line 3C with maybe someone like Rossi or Khusnutdinov as your 1c/2c combo. Maybe this one down year lands them Celebrini. Who knows!

Minnesota decline.
Eriksson Ek is not available.