Minnesota Wild Trade Away Forward in Salary Dump Move
The NHL Draft begins Friday night at 6 p.m. CDT. As of now, the Minnesota Wild do not own a pick on night number one, which includes only the first round. That’s because their 2025 first rounder was dealt to Columbus in the trade that landed David Jiricek in a Wild sweater.
Minnesota Wild trade Freddy Gaudreau to Seattle
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch, especially after Thursday morning, when the Wild sent bottom six forward Freddy Gaudreau to the Seattle Kraken in exchange for a fourth round draft pick, giving Minnesota five total draft picks on Saturday, between rounds two and eight.
The #SeaKraken have acquired center Freddy Gaudreau from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. pic.twitter.com/3Qiw2YJXZc
— Seattle Kraken PR (@SeattleKrakenPR) June 26, 2025
| 2025 Wild Draft | Pick | From |
|---|---|---|
| Round 2 | No. 52 | |
| Round 4 | No. 102 | Seattle |
| Round 4 | No. 121 | Toronto |
| Round 5 | No. 141 | Columbus |
| Round 6 | No. 180 |
Related: MN Wild’s Latest Lowball Offer to Marco Rossi was Borderline Disrespectful
According to Michael Russo (The Athletic), this trade was about dumping Gaudreau’s $2.1 million salary, in order to clear space for what president of hockey operations Bill Guerin believes will allow them more wiggle room in the free agent center market.
What are the Seattle Kraken getting in Gaudreau?
Freddy Gaudreau heads West after four seasons in a Minnesota Wild sweater. After spending the first three years of his career in Nashville, where he played just 84 total games, Gaudreau spent one season in Pittsburgh (2020-21) before signing with the Wild prior to the 2021-22 season.
While in the State of Hockey, Gaudreau’s NHL career blossomed. He played in a total of 103 games before he arrived in Minnesota, totalling just 18 points between his time with the Preds and Pens. In his four seasons with the Wild, he played in 307 games, scoring 56 goals and totalling 134 points.
Last year, at age 32, Freddy Gaudreau put up one of the best seasons of his 8-year NHL career, potting 18 goals and assisting on 19 more. His role was increased, however, due to a chronic injury problem that ran through the Minnesota Wild locker room all season, but never touched Freddy.
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