The Minnesota Wild filled a need at their weakest position ahead of the NHL trade deadline by acquiring center Michael McCarron from the Nashville Predators.
Minnesota on Tuesday night sent a 2028 second-round pick to Nashville for the 6-foot-6 McCarron, who is more of a depth option than someone who can play down the middle on one of the top two lines. It’s the second addition in as many days for the Wild, who on Monday claimed forward Robby Fabbri off waivers from St. Louis.
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General manager Bill Guerin made his blockbuster move in December by getting elite defenseman Quinn Hughes from Vancouver. That trade included center Marco Rossi going to the Canucks, depleting the Wild’s depth there while getting better on the blue line.
It’s unclear how adding McCarron affects Guerin’s other possibilities before the deadline at 3 p.m. EST Friday. Minnesota has been linked to New York Rangers center Vincent Trocheck, who has been open about his desire to stay not far from the East Coast where his family is — and would be a higher-quality acquisition than McCarron at a much richer cost.
McCarron helps in one area Guerin highlighted: faceoffs, where the Wild rank second worst in the league at a 46.2% success rate. The soon-to-be 31-year-old has won 52.8% of his draws through 59 games this season.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
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