The Minnesota Wild have traded for a big, powerful player from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a seventh-round pick. No, we haven’t gone back in time to July when they acquired Pat Maroon, instead this time they have acquired defenseman Zach Bogosian in their second trade of the day. The first move sent young offensive-defenseman Calen Addison to the San Jose Sharks and in return, the Wild collected just a fifth-round pick and prospect Adam Raska. The move makes the Wild older, tougher, slower, and harder to play against.
Addison’s Days Were Numbered
Unfortunately, the writing was on the wall for Addison after being scratched for a vast majority of the last couple of months during the 2022-23 season. The young offensive-minded defenseman added a lot to the first powerplay unit but was a massive defensive liability who seemed unwilling to bend to what the Wild’s coaches and management wanted. His restricted free agent (RFA) status over the summer left him at the mercy of the Wild who eventually signed him for a low dollar figure just days before training camp.
Despite being better defensively this season, Addison’s offensive prowess was just not at the same level as last season, and with the Wild shaking up the power play units where he made his living, it was obvious that he no longer had a spot on the roster. With just five assists in 12 games so far this season, Addison has not added the value required to keep him on the team. As is obvious now, the Wild wanted to add some size to the back-end and someone had to go. A fifth-round pick still feels a little light for a prospect with as much potential as Addison.
Bogosian Adds Even More Grit
Sliding into Addison’s now vacant spot is the much bigger, older, and experienced Zach Bogosian. The 33-year-old veteran clocks in at 6-foot-2 and over 230 pounds, but he was definitely not that huge when he was drafted third overall in 2008 by the Atlanta Thrashers. Bogosian is a heavy third-pairing defenseman who has only played four games so far this season and has never played a full 82-game season despite having 787 NHL games worth of experience.
The Wild acquired Bogosian because he can block shots, kill penalties, and be an overall force on the blue line, all of which are items that the Wild need more of, but they are beginning to get dangerously close to the line of having too many big, gritty players in their cap-strapped lineup. There is a reason that the rest of the NHL has transitioned to faster, more skilled players. Yet the Wild seemed determined to bring in every other team’s biggest player attempting to hang on to their career. It has worked so far, Maroon was their latest fantastic addition, but there may come a time when it doesn’t pan out quite like they hope.
New Defensive Pairings
The swap of Addison for Bogosian will likely be just that. The newcomer will slip right into the third pairing with rookie Daemon Hunt or Jon Merrill depending on what head coach Dean Evason is feeling that night. The real question will be what happens when the team is back to full health. While it is unlikely that the Wild get Spurgeon back for another couple of games, he is not that far off. His return will be welcomed greatly but will result in Hunt being sent back down to the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliated Iowa Wild. Spurgeon will take his usual place beside Jacob Middleton and Dakota Mermis should find himself beside Bogosian.
Goligoski’s return on the other hand could cause some drama, although it seems like he could still be on long-term injured reserve for a while. Tonight’s Nov. 9 game against the New York Rangers will mark his 11th game out of the lineup, although if last season was any indicator it seems unlikely he would’ve been active for most of those games anyway. It is not actually his return to the lineup that could cause problems, but rather the loss of his $2 million from long-term injury reserve (LTIR).
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The Wild have been giving Mermis opportunities over Merrill and for good reason, the 29-year-old has added two goals and five points in 10 games on top of becoming increasingly reliable. Once Goligoski makes his return, the Wild would have just $18,000 of cap space and eight defensemen on their roster, but due to Goligoski’s no-movement clause in his contract, one of either Merrill or Mermis will have to be waived and sent down to Iowa if they clear.
Strange Move to Grade
Perhaps the most difficult part of these two trades is that it is very difficult to say if the Wild have gotten better or not. Addison is a bright young talent that could have a very promising future in the NHL, but he was not meshing with the Wild and it was very obviously time to move on for both parties. Bogosian does add some size to the blue line and improves the penalty kill, but sacrifices more speed and skill for size and grit which are not in short supply. The only real way to tell will be the Wild’s record moving forward.
