Although he wasn’t among their cuts today, Wild defenseman Gustav Olofsson may not be with the team too much longer. Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (subscription required) that the team has investigated what they could potentially get for him on the trade market.
The 23-year-old is dealing with a shoulder issue at the moment and it’s not known if he is even healthy enough to be cleared to play just yet.
Last season, the 2013 second round pick (46th overall) split time between the third pairing and the press box. He suited up in 41 games for Minnesota, collecting eight assists and 14 penalty minutes while averaging just below 13 minutes per night. He did not play during their first-round exit at the hands of Winnipeg.
When healthy, Olofsson appears to be in a similar fate as last year where he projects to be an extra on the roster. It’s not ideal for a young player to continue to be in that situation so it’s not surprising to see Minnesota looking to see what type of trade market is out there for him as his value will likely drop the longer he sits while getting something would guarantee at least some sort of return over risking losing him for nothing on the waiver wire.
Olofsson is in the second and final year of a contract he signed in June of 2017 that carries a cap hit of $725K and a $775K salary. He will be owed a qualifying offer of just under $814K next summer.
Investigating the trade market while a player has a shoulder issue is not the smartest idea.
I’m not sure that even Cliff Fletcher would do something this dumb
Who??? Lucky to get a 5th-6th round pick for him. Keep him for depth.