Minnesota Wild's Top Trade Candidate This Season

The Minnesota Wild have been playing much better and gotten themselves into a top three spot in their division despite the money being dished out to players not playing for them anymore. The roster looks depleted, and that's because it is. The Wild are paying nearly $13 million in buyouts this season and $2 million more than than the following two seasons.

That being said, they are still looking to upgrade this season. To do that they need cap space. Matt Dumba is the prime candidate that comes to mind as there have been rumours that he isn't going to make it to the trade deadline as part of the Wild.

Dumba has a cap hit of $6 million and is an upcoming free agent next summer. There isn't a chance he returns to the Wild because of their cap situation and defence situation. The Wild fortunately have more than one option here. They could trade Dumba to a Stanley Cup contender in need of defence, but it will be tough to find a team willing to take on his full contract. Maybe if that team is willing to swap a forward, then it could work.

The other option is to send Dumba to a team looking longer-term. Dumba could be a sign-and-trade option and the team trading for him could get him at a reduced price before free agency with less hassle. Either way it makes sense that Dumba won't be a member of the Wild for much longer.