Mrazek was just resigned by Chicago

Whoops! Good call

Ristolainen? Really?

In what universe is Risto worth a A-level prospect of Khusnutdinov's caliber? Minnesota doesn’t do that trade straight up, let alone either retain or add picks.

A-level sounds like a stretch. Danila Yurov, A-level for sure and a nonstarter. You’ve already got one undersized center in Rossi plus Ek and Hartman signed to term. Plus grossly overestimating the value of Khusnutdinov. Risto has warts but you can’t trade a bag of chips for a legit top 4 RD.

Yeah, and neither Rossi or Khusnutdinov play soft hockey just because they're under 6' feet. So that doesn't wash... and is an extremely tired narrative BTW. Both of them play extremely sound defensive hockey in their own ends. All while being incredibly hard to knock off the puck. And while being under the vaunted 6 foot mark.

The old addage that small players need to be either fast or have high hockey IQ's to make it argument falls flat too. Rossi has the high IQ to be a top 6 center, while Khusnutdinov has the speed (He’s easily around a Brayden Point level foot speed). Khusnutdinov is absolutely considered an A-level prospect, he was an expected 1st round pick on talent alone during his draft year, but only fell into the 2nd because of the whole Russian factor. That's not his fault. Nor should it diminish his perceived value either.

Hartman can and does play all foward positions, and is easily put back onto the wing if necessary. That's an non-issue.

Joel Eriksson-Ek is a legitimate 2C, sure. But he's elite whenever he's deployed in a checking 3C role. So him bumping down to the 3rd line just increases our center depth even more.

Or Khusnutdinov can play there, because again, that's a non-issue. Or maybe he's moved to the wing and becomes our 2LW of the future.

If your argument is that Minnesota can't compete with two undersized centers in their top six. The obvious counter argument to that is to stick at least one player of size onto their wings. Say a Matt Boldy or Liam Öhgren type of player.

Finally, saying Risto is a legitimate top-four defenseman is being extremely generous. He's barely a serviceable #4D. All while being a defensive black hole. Can anyone say Matt Dumba. He's a least familiar with the organization and the team loves him. And he's going to cost a damn site less than this.

You're putting words in my mouth saying that I suggested undersized centers can't succeed in the NHL as part of the tangent you went on. Simply pointing out that, especially with a GM in Bill Guerin who prioritizes size & grit, Khusnutdinov is a prospect whose skill set is somewhat duplicated with Rossi already on the roster.

Khusnutdinov, to reiterate again, is not an "A level" prospect. He's not even top 50! You're valuing a guy with a middle six projection up there with guys like Michkov, Gauthier, Will Smith, Shane Wright, Zach Benson, etc.

Risto's metrics are not good, but teams have still showed a clear willingness to overpay for right shot D who can play 20+ minutes per game. Especially ones like the Wild with a meddling owner convinced they're contenders when in reality they've been stuck in the mushy middle for an eternity.