Wild Acquire Moulson, McCormick

Matt Moulson will don his third different jersey this year. Photo: USATSI

Just prior to the 2 PM CDT trade deadline, Chuck Fletcher made another trade deadline move with Buffalo. This year, he acquired Matt Moulson and Cody McCormick from the Sabres in exchange for Torrey Mitchell and the Wild's second round pick in 2014 (acquired from Winnipeg last summer for Devin Setoguchi) and in 2016.

A Busy Tuesday: Backstrom Shut Down, Mitchell Wants Out

Will Chuck Fletcher move Torrey Mitchell today?

Shortly after the team acquired Ilya Bryzgalov yesterday, GM Chuck Fletcher stated that due to the injury Niklas Backstrom has sustained, he will be shut down and will more than likely be done for the season. The announcement that Backstrom will be shut down was not surprising in the least given he has not played since January 30th and the Olympic break did very little to help heal his abdominal injury.

Wild Acquire Ilya Bryzgalov

Ilya Bryzgalov will be coming to Minnesota.

Literally not even an hour after head coach Mike Yeo responded to trade rumors about the team getting another goalie, the Wild ended up trading for another goalie. That goalie was Ilya Bryzgalov.

The Good and Bad of Available Goalies

Jaroslav Halak may never play one second for Buffalo. Photo: Pat Iverson

With the trade deadline in just over a day, the Wild have been highly linked to being interested in getting a goalie to backup Darcy Kuemper for the season's final 20 games. So lets take the pros and cons of each of the goalies who are potentially available for the Wild to pickup here in the next day.

Should The Wild Trade For Ryan Miller?

How much longer will Ryan Miller be in Buffalo? Photo: Bill Wippert/Getty Images

With just five games left for the Wild before they break for the Olympics, the question will start to get asked if they will make a move before the break. It has been speculated that there could be more activity on the trade front leading up to the Olympic break, than there will actually be in the days leading up to the March 5 deadline.

5 Players the Wild Should Pursue

Tomorrow, the Wild open up their post all star break schedule against the red hot Nashville Predators (Winners of 4 straight and 9 of their last 10). As they sit just 27 days from the February 27th (2 PM central time) deadline, the team currently holds a 24-18-7 (55 points) record, which is good enough to sit in the eighth and final playoff spot in the West. But, they are only one point in front of ninth place Colorado and three points ahead of twelfth place Phoenix. Clearly, this team needs to make some improvements.

So with some cap room, and some holes on the roster, here are 5 players (Sorry for you folks looking for Shea Weber or Zach Parise, this is a realistic list) the Wild could trade for as the trade deadline approaches:

Francois Beauchemin D (ANA)-The Ducks are on a tear right now (won 8 out of 10 going into the break), but can they truly dig themselves out of the hole they put themselves in to start the year. They are still 13 points behind Minnesota, and it has been made clear that no one on the roster is safe. Beauchemin leads the Ducks defenseman in goals (6), points (18), plus/minus (1), and average time on ice (25:48). If the Ducks hit another slump, look for Beauchemin to get moved as he is in the final year of his contract. The Wild need a veteran presence on the blueline, and Beauchemin can give them that and eat up big time minutes. Moving forward, he should be priority #1 for them.

Hal Gill D (MON)-Its a stretch to think Chuck Fletcher would go after Hal Gill. He is old (36 years old) and is seeing his role diminished (ATOI of 14:11 in January) on a underachieving team. He is not offensively gifted, but he brings experience and mostly solid defensive play (His -9 on the season tells me otherwise). Gill would be able to get better ice time here and could help mentor the young defenseman the Wild have on their roster. Gill is also in the final year of his contract, and would come at a low price due to his diminished role.

Ryan Suter D (NSH)-Friday it was announced that Suter would not sign an extension with Nashville during the season. So now Nashville has to decide if they want to keep Suter for the playoffs and risk losing him on July 1st, or trade him and get something in return. Should Nashville decide to move him, this is the guy the Wild should look at. An all star this year, Suter currently holds a line of 5-23-28 and is averaging 26:29 of ice time this year. The price for Suter may be more steep than Chuck Fletcher wants to go, so acquiring him this year could wait until July 1st. But it doesn't hurt to call now, does it?

PA Parenteau F (NYI)-Should the Wild determine that Pierre-Marc Bouchard and/or Guillaume Latendresse can not return to the lineup this year with their concussion symptoms, they need to go out and get a top 6 forward. Parenteau would fill that hole nicely. So far this year with NYI, he has a line of 10-33-43 and has registered 11 points in 12 games in January. He too would be considered a "rental"(A player in the final year of his contract) and will probably want to hit the free agent market in July due to his age (28). But nonetheless, the team should give him a look in case PMB or Gui can't return.

Vaclav Prospal F (CBJ)-Should the Wild need to get another forward, Prospal should get a good look from them. He was once a 20+ goal scorer in the league. But last year he was injured, and this year he plays for the worst team in the league. So his stats have taken a hit. But he would be a good fit for the Wild in their top 6, while also bringing some good playoff experience (9 seasons of playoff hockey for Prospal). It is pretty much a guarantee Prospal will be moved, due to the lack of winning in Columbus. So why not give him another chance at the postseason in Minnesota?

UPDATE: I just was informed that Beauchemin signed a three year extension with Anaheim last week. So it would appear he is off the trade market. So you may disregard him on this list.