Suzuki isn't available at all. The last 10 games or so he's been arguably our most consistent forward with Gallagher and Tatar, he's constantly improving, has been surprisingly strong two-way at center and he's showing some pretty nice skill and production to go alongside a gamer's mentality, something invaluable in a young player. Truth be told, I probably wouldn't trade him 1-for-1 for any player on the Wild right now, with the possible exception of Kaprizov if he ever comes over.
If everything goes well with Suzuki and he continues on his rapid improvement, he could be a first-liner, something we need a lot more than a guy like Brodin given our team makeup, even though Brodin is a reaaly good player as you've said.
Similarly, Domi is also not available for Brodin as things stand right now. Domi is a bit reckless and has had some troubles producing offense at points in the season, but he is still a very important part of the core of our team in the years to come, just had 72 points last year, and should be good for 55+ this year despite his struggles. Not only is he a big fan favorite, he thrives in Montreal, revels in the media attention and exhibits toughness and dedication to the game that should see him continue to excel here for years to come ala Gallagher. He is not perfect, and we could ultimately trade him if it benefited us, but it would need to be in a package for an upgrade at forward that's around the same age or very slightly older, or a more skilled defenseman than Brodin, assets that the Wild do not have to trade us.
In that sense, we have some really good prospects in the pipeline at LHD in Romanov, Norlinder, Harris and Struble. At least one of those guys should be a strong presence on D for us in two-three years, with Romanov being the most likely suspect, so even though LD is our primary need this year and in the short-term future (alongside more talent at forward and upwards progression by our youngsters), it isn't a long-term need for us, or at least not a pressing need anymore given our prospects, Mete's improvement and Chiarot's surprising level of play.
We are also not good enough to go for it this year while mortgaging our future, and acquiring Brodin at the expense of one of our good young forwards just isn't the right move right now from that perspective.
Provided things stay the same, the best option would be to try and make the playoffs with our team as is, or maybe with a small addition, get some experience going, and then maybe go for it in a couple of years, once our top prospects like KK, Poehling, Suzuki, Romanov, Caufield and Primeau are ready for elevated opportunities. With another 12 picks in the upcoming draft we will continue increasing the depth of our prospect pool and should be a seriously strong team in a couple of years, moreso if we fall out of a playoff spot and manage to nab Lafrenière.
