Circulartheory
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WILD ACQUIRE ANZE KOPITAR IN EXCHANGE FOR FUTURE PIECES
The Minnesota Wild are starting to push for a playoff contention when it made a big trade, acquiring star forward Anze Kopitar and veteran Andrew Brunette from the Carolina Hurricanes.
In exchange, the Wild sent off James Van Riemsdyk, defenseman Matt Carle, a 1st and 2nd round pick from the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, as well as a 2014 5th round pick.
"It was a large price but we felt that acquiring a key player like Kopitar while still keeping our key future pieces in Mikael Granlund, Cam Fowler, Zach Bogosian, and Jonas Brodin, it was an opportunity we could not pass up.
It just made sense moving forward. Kopitar isn't a player that will be here for 2-3 years, we are hoping to keep him longterm as players like those listed above, as well as David Perron, Sergei Kostitsyn, John Moore, Anton Stralman and Seymon Varlamov, all continue to experience progression to their games.
While we are going to be a solid group this season, we believe we can be dangerous team in the next 2-3 seasons, especially now with Kopitar leading the team"
Wild make another, but more unnoticed, trade
The Wild also traded away defenseman Colton Teubert, who was looking to play for a regular spot this upcoming season, for prospects Connor Brickley and Anders Nilsson.
"The team right now has a logjam of young defensemen, but have been lacking depth in the forward and goaltending department.
Brickley was injured for most of last season, but when he was healthy, he was a key physical player for University of Vermont. Reports have it that he is 100% recovered and we will give him time to continue developing.
Nilsson did not play much last season as well, but when he did, he played quite well. He even managed to squeeze 4 NHL games, in which he surprised manay. Nilsson is still a relatively unknown player, but he will have his chance this season to show if he can handle the professional game."
