Minnesota has slowly shaken things up a bit in recent days with them waiving and losing Tyson Jost while adding Ryan Reaves in a trade yesterday. However, when speaking with reporters including Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link), GM Bill Guerin acknowledged that he’s also on the lookout for scoring help although, at this time, the hope is that they can get more production from their current group.
Last season, the Wild ranked fifth in the NHL in goals with 310, or 3.78 per game. While a lot of the roster is back from last year, the goal output hasn’t been as they are currently 25th in that regard with 55 in 19 games, or 2.89 per contest. Thus far, they’ve been able to hang around the playoff race in the West due to a stingy defense that has also allowed just 55 goals so an offensive improvement from some of their veterans would certainly go a long way. At the moment, Minnesota has just under $3.7MM in cap space to spend now, per CapFriendly, a number that jumps to $12.4MM on deadline day. Accordingly, patience from Guerin makes a lot of sense here as by waiting, he’ll be able to afford a more impactful upgrade if he can’t get the improvement from within that he’s seeking.
More from the Central:
- Also from Russo’s tweet, Guerin acknowledged that they’re in the process of determining if Marco Rossi should be sent down to the minors for a temporary stint. Things haven’t gone well for the 21-year-old center this season as he has just one assist in 16 games thus far. Rossi had a strong rookie campaign with AHL Iowa last year that saw him put up 53 points in 63 games which helped him earn a full-time spot on the roster but after being scratched the last two games and Reaves being added to the roster, going back to the minors for now might be the best move even if it is a step back.
- The news appears to be pretty good for Avalanche forward Evan Rodrigues. Head coach Jared Bednar told reporters including Peter Baugh of The Athletic (Twitter link) that the 29-year-old has a lower-body “tweak” but is feeling okay. Rodrigues won’t accompany the team to Nashville for Friday’s game but it looks like he might not be out for too long. He’s off to a nice start in his first season with Colorado with six goals and three assists in 18 games so far.