The Minnesota Wild and Calgary Flames have made a three-player trade
Photo credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Jake Middleton is a Calgary Flame now, but this deal was decided back in December.
The Wild sent Middleton to Calgary for Blake Coleman and Olli Maatta, with TSN's Darren Dreger first reporting the move, supported by Michael Russo.
Middleton averaged 17:30 a game and added an assist in eleven playoff contests before Minnesota's season ended in the second round against Colorado.
Every take so far has focused on Coleman's scoring or Maatta's steady depth.
The more interesting question is why Minnesota was willing to move a legitimate top-four defenseman at all.
The answer traces back to December 12, when Bill Guerin acquired Quinn Hughes from Vancouver.
Hughes changed what Minnesota needed on the back end
Middleton built his reputation as a stay-at-home partner who could handle heavy minutes and win puck battles along the wall.
That profile matters less once Hughes is running the power play and driving zone exits from the back himself.
Guerin now needs defensemen who complement an elite puck-mover, not another player built to grind out possession the hard way.
Trading Middleton while his value was still high made more sense than forcing an awkward pairing.
Middleton spent his entire NHL career in Minnesota after going 210th overall in 2014, finishing with 24 goals and 94 points in 381 games.
The Hughes trade already cost the Wild a first-round pick, Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren and Zeev Buium, and this move is Guerin continuing to reshape the roster around his new franchise defenseman.
Calgary's retention makes this cheaper than it looks
ESPN's Emily Kaplan reported the Flames are retaining half of Coleman's $4.9 million cap hit, meaning Minnesota adds a proven 20-goal scorer for roughly $2.45 million.
Coleman won two Stanley Cups with Tampa Bay and has 170 goals in 693 career games, giving the Wild bottom-six scoring punch they lacked in the playoffs.
Maatta adds experienced depth on a blueline that just lost a physical veteran, and his contract runs two more years at a reasonable $3.5 million.
For a team that has reached the second round in back-to-back seasons, this looks less like a rebuild move and more like Guerin clearing a logjam his own blockbuster trade created.
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