Wild 2022-23 Report Cards: Bill Guerin

Guerin took a break from signing players to work during the 2023 Trade Deadline when he brought in Johansson, John Klingberg, Gustav Nyquist, and Oskar Sundqvist. He beefed up the lineup a bit with more skill than muscle but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to get them out of the first round. Following their playoff loss, he, like his players, took some time before getting back to the grind.

He added more muscle and scoring skills earlier this week when he succeeded in re-signing Brandon Duhaime before his arbitration date. The one-year, $1.1 million deal is a strong deal for both sides in it’s friendly for the team and it also earns Duhaime a slight raise before the possibility to re-sign again after next season. The signings and trades were done to make the team better and while it did help the talent level, they were still missing something. Hopefully this next season Guerin can find that special missing ingredient.

Guerin’s Losses

Last season, Guerin traded Kevin Fiala away and in return received Faber and a draft pick that would later become Liam Öhgren. While letting Fiala go wasn’t the greatest, the players they got in return secured part of the Wild’s future, especially on defense with Faber. This past season, they had to let Jordan “Big Rig” Greenway go in a trade to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for two draft picks, a second-rounder that turned out to be Riley Heidt, and a fifth-round pick in 2024.

So, while it was a big loss losing a sizable player in Greenway, they gained players for their future. Other than Greenway, they didn’t really lose anyone during the season, however, once the season ended, they saw a number of players leave for more cash. Everyone knows the Wild are strapped for money and wouldn’t be able to sign everyone.

They lost Klingberg, Nyquist, and Sundqvist and will be losing Matt Dumba once he finds a team to sign with. Three of the four losses are minimal as they weren’t with the team for more than a couple of months, but losing Dumba will hurt. Thankfully, Guerin has been prepared for this day and even signed Pat Maroon to help alleviate some of the leadership loss as well as the physicality.

Guerin’s Grade

Once again, it’s hard to put together a grade without stats to show any improvement or lack thereof. However, we took a look at his signings and his trades to see how much they helped the team and can give him a grade based on that. Overall, the moves he made helped improve the team with the money he had, however, there are always other deals that can be done but are passed over for others.

Based on this past season’s moves up until the Duhaime signing, Guerin earned an A-. He’s done what he can to build the best team possible with the money he has. However, as always, there’s room for improvement and other deals that can be done. If the Wild can move past the first round next season, his grade may reflect better, but until that happens, it won’t go any higher. Hopefully, he can get Gustavsson signed and be on their way to a better season.