It was another disappointing season for the Minnesota Wild. They’re a team in transition with a new general manager and head coach. The Wild have some aging players that will likely be on the way out, such as captain Mikko Koivu.

These two clubs have come together as trade partners a handful of times over the last few years. Including some big deals that shook up the rosters on both sides. As a team in transition, the Wild may be looking to move a handful of players to shape their roster moving forward.

Wild Offseason Outlook

2020-21 Projected Cap Space (via Cap Friendly): $16.2 million

Key Restricted Free Agents: Luke Kunin and Jordan Greenway

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: Carson Soucy (Group 6), Mikko Koivu, and Alex Galchenyuk

Projected Needs: Forwards and goaltending

1. Erik Staal | C | Age 35 | One-year, $3.25 million

I’m not going to spend a lot of time here with Staal because while he may be moved, I don’t think the Sabres are a logical landing spot. At his age, it’s unlikely that he’ll want to come to Buffalo to play a mentorship role for a season.

He has a modified no-trade clause that allows him to submit a 10-team no-trade list, according to Cap Friendly. I would imagine the Sabres would be on his list and he’ll want to go to a contender for one more run at a Stanley Cup.

2. Ryan Donato | LW | Age 24 | One-year, $1.9 million

Donato arrived in the NHL making a splash with the Boston Bruins but hasn’t been able to replicate that early performance with Wild. In the right opportunity, Donato could still be an impactful player as a third-line winger.

This past season he scored at a 19 goals and 30 points per 82 games pace with the Wild. His underlying numbers are decent.

You can see in Micah’s isolated impact chart above that he’s a positive offensive player. It’s also interesting to see how well he grades out in goal-scoring impact. He could be a nice option to play with Dylan Cozens in an offensively sheltered role.

3. Jordan Greenway | LW | Age 23 | RFA

The big winger is an interesting trade target. He may be more difficult to acquire than Donato, but could probably still be acquired with a fair offer. The 23-year-old is in a similar situation to Donato. He hasn’t quite lived up to expectations in Minnesota.

He’s another player that could fit into a third-line winger role with the Sabres and would add some more size to the lineup. Greenway hasn’t shown the same kind of offensive upside as Donato, but he does grade out well defensively, as you’ll see below in Evolving Hockey’s RAPM model.

Greenway could be an improvement in the role that Zemgus Girgensons played for the Sabres in the last few years. He could step into that defensive role and possibly add some more offensively.

4. Devan Dubnyk | G | Age 34 | One-year, $4.33 million

The Sabres need to address their goaltending in the offseason and the Wild would probably like to get out from the final year of Dubnyk’s deal. While this addresses an area of need for the Sabres, there are a handful of other goaltenders I would explore before landing on Dubnyk.

He legitimately has performed as one of the worst goaltenders in the league over the last few years and is one of the primary reasons the Wild have missed the playoffs. Over the last three years, he has ranked second-last among goaltenders to play at least 500 minutes in goals save above expected (-59.97), according to Evolving Hockey.

Kevyn Adams would be wise to stay clear of Dubnyk, but with the Sabres needs, he’s worth mentioning.

5. Jonas Brodin | LD | Age 27 | One-year, $4.1 million

Brodin is one of my secret desires this offseason. If the Wild move him, his cost is going to be high and the Sabres don’t have the assets to burn on a defenseman with their needs at forward. However, if they can put a package together and not risk omitting the forwards again, they should explore this option.

They have a need for a left-shot defenseman with Lawrence Pilut heading overseas. Brodin is probably the best defensive-defenseman in the game at this point. Over the last three years, he ranks second in the league among all defensemen to play at least 300 minutes in even-strength defense in the twins’ expected goals above replacement model.

You can see his impressive defensive impacts below in Micah’s isolated data.

He’s also a strong player on the penalty kill which fits another big need of the Sabres this offseason. Again, it’s unlikely Brodin would land in Buffalo, but it would be a solid addition to solidify the blue line.

Data via: Hockeyviz.com, Cap Friendly and Evolving Hockey

Photo Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports