Wild: Overreaction trade Minnesota must make to continue hot start in 2026-27

Wild: Overreaction trade Minnesota must make to continue hot start in 2026-27 appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Minnesota Wild are on an incredible run to begin the 2026-27 NHL season. Minnesota is sitting near the top of the Western Conference at this time. In fact, only the Edmonton Oilers are the only team in the West with more points than the Wild at this time. Minnesota has a chance to win the Stanley Cup for the first time in its history this season. Yes, it’s still very early on. This team is just 19 games into an 84 game season. At the same time, it’s hard to argue with how well they’ve played. The West is being closely contested, but they are clearly on another level at this point in the year. However, this team certainly isn’t perfect. Minnesota has some things they need to clean up sooner rather than later. With American Thanksgiving approaching, so too is the first real inflection point of the NHL season. Watch sports LIVE with fuboTV (free trial) We’re starting to see who the real contenders are and who the pretenders are. The Wild are contenders, and they need to further cement themselves as such. This could see them turn to the trade market. The Wild have been actively scouring the market , to their credit. Minnesota has been strongly linked to Dylan Larkin . Current reporting indicates Larkin would very much be open to that move. However, a deal has failed to materialize to this point. What if the Wild could solve their problems with a different move? With Quinn Hughes ’s future in Minnesota in question, what if the Wild pushed their chips to the center of the table and made a shocking trade for a future Hall of Famer? Wild could give Evgeni Malkin one last shot at Stanley Cup Back in the spring, discussion around Evgeni Malkin and his future in the NHL reached a fever pitch. The Pittsburgh Penguins had been eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And Malkin was headed toward unrestricted free agency at the age of 39. In the end, the future Hall of Famer signed a one-year contract to remain with Pittsburgh. He remained with the only team he has ever known. So far, though, it doesn’t look like the Penguins will be back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Malkin is not one of the players to fault for this, though. If anything, he is one of the major bright spots on this team. The now 40-year-old center has produced at a point-per-game clip. 16 points in 16 games so far. And yet, the Penguins are at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division. This could force Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas into a difficult position. Does he try to retool on the fly and give his team’s iconic core one last shot in Black and Gold? Or does he recoup some assets for the future? The Wild would stand to gain a lot of short-term value in a Malkin trade. It’s clear that the future Hall of Famer still has some gas left in the tank. His contract could be easily absorbed, especially if Pittsburgh retains some salary. This move would also solve the team’s need for a top-six center. Again, this is a short-term fix. A trade for Larkin would help both now and for years to come. But if Hughes doesn’t re-sign with the Wild, this team doesn’t look as formidable as it is now. With this in mind, the Wild need to go all in on this season. Trading for Malkin would send a clear signal to the NHL about their intentions for this year.