Are the Minnesota Wild ‘Out’ on Jannik Hansen?

The Los Angeles Kings weren’t the only team to make a blockbuster trade out of the Western Conference Sunday. Just moments after the Kings acquired Ben Bishop from the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Minnesota Wild announced that they’d acquired Martin Hanzal from the Arizona Coyotes.

That trade should be of interest for Canucks fans because the Wild are one of the first two teams connected in earnest to Jannik Hansen. If they’re ‘all in’ and I tend to think today’s move is an indication of as much, how far are they willing to go down that path, and is there still ample room to stumble on Hansen as they do?

This move doesn’t infringe on the Canucks demands for Hansen. The Canucks have always wanted a top prospect for Hansen, and while the Wild threw almost every pick in the arsenal at Arizona for Hanzal, they didn’t dive into their prospect pool. In that sense, nothing’s really changed.

Where this might make a deal more difficult to consummate is in a hypothetical scenario where the Wild have some semblance of interest in Hansen but refuse to budge from their position of staunch unwillingness to dig into their prospect pool for deadline rentals. Their highest pick in this draft is a third-round selection. If this comes down to the final hour, what remains of the Wild’s draft pick cupboard might not prove satisfactory in the Canucks’ minds.

All this operates on the assumption that the Wild still have some level of interest though. Of that much, I’m not entirely sure. There are conflicting reports about the Wild’s status with two-plus days before the deadline. Still, if you’re to take Wild general manager Cliff Fletcher at his word, the Wild are ‘done’.

Similarly, it’s fair to wonder whether the Wild are even one of the ‘seven playoff teams’ Hansen admitted to including in the eight-team list he’s willing to waive his no-trade clause for and report to if traded. I’ve heard nothing in private and seen nothing in the public sphere to indicate as much.

Whatever the case, I think the one certainty in light of the Wild’s acquisition of Hanzal is that they’re probably less likely to make a deal for Hansen than they were going into Sunday.