People put way too much stock in what Dreger says.
Going by what he and others (especially Russo) have been saying, we can be pretty positive that Guerin's been listening on everyone over the last few months. That's what he should be doing, under the circumstances. It also sounds like Dumba and Brodin have attracted a lot of attention from teams poking around to see what might shake free. Again that's what they should be doing, under the circumstances.
The fact that Guerin is probably asking for centers when other GMs ask about his two most valuable trade assets shouldn't surprise anyone. Especially when the two guys we're talking about are young, good-to-great at their positions, and have almost nothing pushing them out. Whether he's asking for "1C's" or whatever I think is more speculative.
Here's
Guerin from yesterday:
“When there’s a definite need, wherever it is on any team, the other teams know what’s going on, too, and teams aren’t just giving up first- and second-line centers for free,” Guerin said. “They’re deals that are usually hard to make, but we’re going to do our best.
“We know where we stand right now and what we need to address, and we’ll keep working toward it. I’m not going to make trades just to try to make trades and fabricate something that’s not good enough. If a deal makes sense, then we’ll do it. If not, we’ll be patient and we’ll wait.”
The Wild need someone to play between Fiala and Kaprizov next year. I don't think we're talking a bonafide, proven 1C in their prime or bust here. Domi's someone that's come up in talk on here, as is Johansen, as is Trochek. Are any of those guys actually available for one of the Wild's defensemen? Maybe not. But while they're not what anyone on here probably thinks of when they see "1C" they're probably guys that Guerin would part with a defenseman for.
And Minnesota has some options in house. Staal's pretty good, but old. Eriksson-Ek's pretty good, but a bit of a mystery. Khovanov's pretty good, but hasn't turned pro yet.
Regardless, it doesn't sound like Guerin's busting down doors demanding centers. GMs are calling him and asking on these guys. What would you want your GM to say?