Bill Guerin isn’t here to wait around. The Minnesota Wild GM made that crystal clear when he pulled off one of the boldest moves of the season-trading top prospects Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, and Liam Öhgren to land elite defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks.
That’s not the kind of deal you make unless you believe your window to win is wide open. And Guerin clearly does.
Hughes, speaking after arriving in St. Paul, acknowledged just how significant the return package was.
“Some teams, they're in [trade talks] until they hear what they have to trade to get me,” he said. “But Billy, he was just full-in.”
That’s the mindset driving Minnesota now: full-in. The Wild sit second in the NHL in points, and they’re not resting on that success. With the trade deadline approaching, Guerin is making it clear that the team is willing to move pieces-yes, even prized prospects-if it means adding the right player to help them go toe-to-toe with the likes of Colorado and Dallas in the postseason.
And that brings us to the next wave of young talent: Danila Yurov, Jesper Wallstedt, and Charlie Stramel. These are the Wild’s crown jewels now, the three prospects every team will be asking about in trade talks.
And based on Guerin’s own words, nobody’s off-limits. “I don’t believe in [untouchables],” he told The Athletic’s Joe Smith.
That’s a strong stance, especially after moving Buium-a consensus top-10 prospect before the season. But it also signals just how serious Minnesota is about chasing a Cup. If the right deal is on the table, whether it’s for a proven playoff performer like Ryan O’Reilly or a young, cost-controlled center like Robert Thomas, Guerin’s ready to pay the price.
Still, there’s a case to be made that Yurov, in particular, should be the exception.
On paper, 21 points in 50 games doesn’t scream “must-keep.” But stats only tell part of the story.
Yurov has shown steady growth since the start of the season, and more importantly, he’s making an impact right now. His chemistry on an all-Russian third line with Vladimir Tarasenko and Yakov Trenin has been one of the more quietly effective combinations in the league.
That line isn’t just holding its own-it’s driving offense.
And that’s the key difference between Yurov and someone like Buium. As talented as Buium is, he wasn’t NHL-ready yet.
He wasn’t contributing to the Wild’s success this season. Hughes, on the other hand, stepped in and immediately elevated the blue line.
With Brodin sliding to the second pair and Middleton to the third, Minnesota didn’t just survive the trade-they got better.
Moving Yurov would be a different story. He’s not just a future piece-he’s helping this team win right now.
And if you trade him for a top-line center, yes, you’re upgrading at the top of the lineup. But you’re also creating a hole on the third line.
That likely means bumping someone like Ryan Hartman into that role, and he hasn’t been nearly as effective this year. The net result?
A stronger top line, but potentially weaker depth-something that can be a playoff killer.
The Wild also aren’t in a position to thin out their center depth much further. Guerin himself said last spring that the team needed to ease the burden on Joel Eriksson Ek.
Since then, they’ve traded Rossi, and while Yurov isn’t a center, his presence helps offset the loss by keeping the bottom six productive. If Minnesota moves him without also adding depth down the middle, they’re one injury away from Eriksson Ek being asked to do too much.
Now, this isn’t to say Yurov is untouchable-Guerin’s already told us he doesn’t believe in that. But if there’s one player among Yurov, Wallstedt, and Stramel that Minnesota should be most reluctant to move, it’s Yurov. He’s contributing now, he’s still developing, and he’s helping balance a lineup that’s built to win in the spring.
The Wild are all-in. But being all-in doesn’t mean being reckless. And when it comes to Danila Yurov, the cost of moving him might outweigh the return-unless the right deal truly knocks Guerin’s socks off.