Minnesota Wild: Chuck Fletcher’s Best Trades

Mar 8, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward

(22) in the second period against the Colorado Avalanche at Xcel Energy Center. The Colorado Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

June 30th, 2013: Wild trade Cal Clutterbuck and the New Jersey Devil’s 2013 third round pick to the New York Islanders for Nino Niederreiter

This trade actually upset me at the time: Clutterbuck was one of my favorite players on the Wild at the time and I thought he still had some tread left on his tires. His scoring had tailed off considerably, but he played a physical brand of hockey while still bringing some skill to the table as well. Meanwhile, Niederreiter was a complete wash-out on Long Island. In 64 games played, he only recorded 2 goals and 1 assist after being the fifth overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Well, the rest is history. Niederreiter tallied 14 goals with 22 assists in 2013-14 and scored the game and series winning goal in overtime of Game 7 of the first round last year against the Colorado Avalanche. He has followed it up this season with 21 goals through 65 games. Oh yeah, and he is only 22 years old. Clutterbuck meanwhile is still a fine player but cannot match Nino’s skill and production while being 27 years old.

Next: Dubnyk