Wild acquire four forwards and two defensemen ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline

Wild General Manager Bill Guerin said he felt good after the trade deadline passed Friday afternoon and is excited to see what his team can do down the stretch of the season.

“We set out to create some depth up front and add to our group and get a veteran D-man that could help us and be there for us,” Guerin said. “So, I think we checked a lot of boxes the last couple days.”

Earlier in the week, Guerin spoke about needing the Wild to improve in the faceoff circle. Despite some good players available, “the asking prices were extremely high,” Guerin said. 

“At some point in time you still have to be responsible and do the right thing, and sometimes patience pays off, so we’ll see,” Guerin said. “I feel like our team’s better today, so I’m happy.”

Here are the moves Guerin made: 

Nick Foligno, forward 
It’s a family reunion for the Folignos as the Wild acquired forward Nick Foligno from the Chicago Blackhawks Friday in exchange for future considerations. Nick, 38, is the older brother of the 34-year-old Wild winger Marcus Foligno, who’s currently on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. 

“We tried getting Nick three times before,” Guerin said. “I guess fourth time’s a charm.” 

Nick Foligno has three goals and 11 points, 27 penalty minutes and 30 shots on goal in 37 games with the Blackhawks this season. He’s played more than 1,200 games over 19 NHL seasons with five teams. He has 250 career goals and 608 points, including 33 game-winners and 60 power-play goals. He’s played in 68 Stanley Cup Playoff games in 11 postseasons. 

Nick Foligno is the former captain of the Columbus Bluejackets and Blackhawks. 

“He’s just like his brother, he’s an A+ human,” Guerin said. “His experiences, the way he plays the game, his character, all those things. He brings a lot to the table for us.”

It’s the first time the brothers will play together on the same NHL team. 

“The whole story with the Folignos, it is a great story, it’s cool they’re reunited,” Guerin said. “But we got Nick for Nick, and for what he brings to the table.”

Bobby Brink, forward 
In another move Friday, the Wild acquired Minnesota native forward Bobby Brink from the Philadelphia Flyers for defenseman David Jiricek. 

The 24-year-old from Minnetonka has a career-high 13 goals, along with 26 points in 55 games this season. He has 94 career points and eight power-play goals in 201 career games throughout four seasons with the Flyers. Last season, he set career-highs in assists with 29 and points with 41. 

Brink could be a versatile piece in shifting around the Wild’s forward lines. 

“In a perfect world, I would probably see him like on our third line,” Guerin said. “That doesn’t mean he can’t bump up to two or one for spurts. Who knows? Let’s see what happens and how he fits in.

“He loves the game. He’s got passion. He plays with emotion and passion. He doesn’t shy away from the high traffic areas.”

Prior to the NHL, Brink scored 92 points in 84 games at Denver University where he served as alternate captain in 2021-22. He led the nation with 57 points, was the NCHC Player of the Year and NCHC Forward of the Year as part of the 2022 Denver team that won the national championship. He played on the 2020 and 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship teams, winning gold with Team USA in 2021. 

At Minnetonka High School, he played two seasons for the Skippers, scoring 21 goals and 70 points in 50 games. Brink and the Skippers won the Class 2A state championship in 2018. He returns to Minnesota on the day of the Class 2A semifinals at the boys’ state hockey tournament, where Minnetonka is the top seed and set to play in the evening’s semifinals.

Jeff Petry, defenseman

Thursday, the Wild picked up defenseman Jeff Petry, 38, from the Florida Panthers in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Should the Wild win two playoff rounds this spring, with Petry playing in 50% or more of those playoff games in the first two rounds, the draft pick becomes a fifth-round selection. 

Petry, who stands at 6-foor-3, came to the Wild with eight assists, 22 penalty minutes and 45 shots on goal in 58 games for the Panthers this season. He’s part of the 1,000-game club across 16 NHL seasons with five different teams, scoring 96 career goals and 393 points. He made four Stanley Cup Playoff appearances with Montreal, where he was an alternate captain, scoring five goals and 13 points in those 48 games. 

Michael McCarron, forward 
The Wild acquired center Michael McCarron from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft. The move was announced just a couple of hours before the Wild’s late puck drop in a 5-1 win against Tampa Bay on Tuesday. 

The 30-year-old McCarron stands at 6-foot-6 and 232 pounds, bringing size, physicality and skill in the faceoff circle. He came to Minnesota with five goals and 12 points, along with 73 penalty minutes and a 52.8% mark in faceoffs in 59 games with Nashville this season. 

“He brings a lot, and faceoffs are one element of his game that we really like,” Guerin said. “Faceoffs is something we’ve been needing to improve and looking to improve.

“I think Mike has the ability to be a really good faceoff guy, and on the penalty kill, too.” 

He also has a career-high 165 hits this season, ranking in the top 20 among NHL players. 

McCarron described himself as a fourth-line center with the ability to play on the wing, too. 

“I’m physical, big body. Like to go to the net,” McCarron said. “Not too flashy but might not always see me on the scoresheet, but I like to do all the little things really well. That’s what kept me here in this league, and just happy to do anything I can to help this team win.”

He’s played parts of nine seasons with Nashville (2020-26) and the Montreal Canadiens (2015-18), the team that selected him in the first round (No. 25 overall) in the 2013 NHL Draft. Through his time with the Predators, McCarron had 33 career NHL goals and 74 points. He also recorded two points in the 2025 IIHF World Championship, winning a gold medal with the United States. 

As far as the price for McCarron? It’s supply and demand, Guerin said. 

“That second-round pick is not going to help us right now,” he added. “If we have to get it back in three years or whatever, maybe we can do that.

“Second-round picks are valuable, but we want to improve our team now. We can deal with that down the road. So, I’m not worried about that.” 

McCarron comes to the Wild already with familiarity having played under John Hynes during his tenure as Nashville’s head coach.

“Michael brings a lot to the table,” Hynes said, after the Wild’s win over Tampa Bay this week. “He’s kind of a glue guy. He’s got a great personality. He brings a lot of energy on the ice, off the ice, in the locker room. 

“He’s strong on the right faceoff circle. He has a penalty kill element. He's a guy that can play strong with good structure, but he brings a physical element.”

Robby Fabbri, forward

The Wild claimed forward Robby Fabbri off waivers from the St. Louis Blues on Monday. 

Guerin said Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong “raved about his character.” 

“He’s a competitive guy,” Guerin said. “He’s always had speed. He’s a high-character kid. 

“I think he just needs a real good opportunity to play, and he’s been through a lot in his career, and he keeps fighting though and he’s established himself as a solid NHL player. Sometimes it’s a change of scenery that can rejuvenate you or get you going again.” 

The 30-year-old Fabbri had a goal and four points in 15 NHL games with the Blues, along with three points in three games in the AHL this season. He came to the Wild having played 457 career games in parts of 10 seasons with three NHL teams.

Fabbri slotted in at left wing on the Wild’s fourth line against Tampa Bay on Tuesday, playing alongside Nico Sturm and Vinnie Hinostroza. Against Tampa Bay, Fabbri had a couple of scoring chances halfway through the game. He recorded two shots and two hits in 9:12 on the ice. 

“I grew up with Fabs a little bit,” said Wild defenseman Jake Middleton. “We did some spring hockey back in Ontario under 17 together. 

“That’s a nice pickup for us.” 

Roman Schmidt, defenseman

The first move of the trade deadline week sent defenseman Roman Schmidt to the Iowa Wild. Schmidt was acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday in exchange for forward Boris Katchouk. The 23-year-old Schmidt has one assist and 60 penalty minutes in 29 AHL games with the Syracuse Crunch and Lehigh Valley Phantoms this season. The 6-foot-5 blue liner was originally selected by Tampa Bay in the third round of the 2021 NHL Draft. He had three goals and seven points in 79 career AHL games across three seasons.

Quinn Hughes, defenseman

The Wild already secured one of the most significant trades of the season back in mid-December, acquiring defenseman Quinn Hughes from Vancouver. That trade sent center Marco Rossi, forward Liam Öhgren, defenseman Zeev Buium and a first-round 2026 draft pick to Vancouver in exchange for Hughes.

Hughes, 26, came to Minnesota with two goals and 21 assists in 26 games with Vancouver this season. Since arriving in Minnesota, he’s continued his run as one of the top defensemen in the league, scoring four goals and 34 assists in his first 30 games in a Wild sweater. 

With a goal and assist earlier this week against Tampa Bay, Hughes reached the 60-point mark (5-55=60) for a fifth season in a row. With his 61 points this season, he's the third American defenseman in NHL history to reach the mark in five or more consecutive seasons, along with Phil Housley and Reed Larson.

Hughes also won Olympic gold with Team USA, scoring the overtime winner against Sweden in the quarterfinals. 

Vinnie Hinostroza, forward
The Wild also traded Vinnie Hinostroza to the Florida Panthers on Friday in exchange for future considerations. The 31-year-old forward scored three goals and 10 points along with 46 shots on goal in his 48 games for Minnesota in 2025-26. The Wild acquired him off waivers from the Nashville Predators last season, and he scored five goals and eight points in 25 games with Minnesota in 2024-25. 

Hinostroza has 171 career points in 460 games over 11 NHL seasons with seven different teams. He played for Florida previously, in 2020-21.