Minnesota Wild Trade Former Gopher to Utah
We’re just about a month from the NHL trade deadline. The Minnesota Wild have surprised this season, as being among the best in the entire league. They could stand to add some reinforcements, though, due to the injury issues. As of now, they just sent out a player.
Sammy Walker leaves MN Wild in trade with Utah
Injuries and ineffectiveness at home have really been the only two things to stop the Minnesota Wild this season. John Hynes has needed to cycle through talent at the Xcel Energy Center, but he hasn’t called upon former Minnesota Gopher Sammy Walker this season. Now he won’t be able to.
#mnwild trade former Gophers captain Sammy Walker to Utah for future considerations. Hopefully gives Sammy a new lease on life.
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) February 3, 2025
The former Gophers captain from Edina played in four games last season, and nine the year before. This year he had yet to earn a trip to the NHL from Iowa. In 30 games for Iowa, Walker scored just two goals with nine assists. He was trending towards his worst season with the franchise.
Across his 13 Minnesota Wild games, Walker posted two points with a goal and an assist each. He’ll now get a fresh start to carve out some playing time with the upstart Utah Hockey Club.
Related: Kirill Kaprizov Injury Probably Helps MN Wild in Contract Talk
Clearly the Wild were motivated to make the move with no real avenue for Walker to compete. Despite the local connection, he had struggled to substantiate himself this season. Utah parted with no real assets to grab him. As future considerations were the only return for this trade.
Minnesota probably isn’t done making deals this season, but the hope would be that general manager Bill Guerin can find a way to impact the NHL roster. The salary cap grows, and the Wild escape bad contracts in the years ahead.
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