West Notes: Wild, Parayko, Lemieux

Minnesota has had a strong first half to their season and are sitting comfortably in a playoff spot in the West Division and remain within striking distance of the top two seeds in Colorado and Vegas.  However, Wild GM Bill Guerin suggested to Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that the team may not be overly active between now and April 12:

I’m really happy with our team right now. I’m happy with the job our players have done, and obviously our coaches have done a great job. Chemistry-wise, I think our team’s good. Unless something really makes us better, I don’t really feel the need to disrupt this group. If something will make us better, then we’ll do it. But I do see the chemistry that our team has, and that’s very important. To mix that up could be dangerous, but we’ll see.

Like many teams, one element that will limit what they even try to do is the salary cap.  Per CapFriendly, the Wild can only add about $2MM on deadline day which is hardly enough to try to make a splash.  If Guerin does opt to make a move then, it will likely have to be one that simply shores up their depth.

More from the West:

• The Blues won’t have Colton Parayko back this weekend but his return appears to be on the horizon. Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that the defenseman is not with the team for their two-game set in Colorado but he has been skating for more than a week now as he works his way back from a back injury.  The team has not yet ruled him out for Monday’s matchup against Vegas and he would be a huge boost to a St. Louis squad that has struggled as of late, dropping four straight and nine of their last 11 games.
• The acquisition of Brendan Lemieux by the Kings over the weekend came as a bit of a surprise but Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports that the 25-year-old had asked for a trade from the Rangers which accelerated the process. Lemieux was believed to be seeking a larger role after averaging just over 10 minutes per game with New York prior to the move.  While he’s still in quarantine, Lemieux should be able to get that with Los Angeles, especially if they wind up moving a forward or two out between now and the trade deadline.