Rumor: Four Wild forwards could end up traded this season.

The Minnesota Wild have had somewhat of an up and down season, although it has certainly been more up than down, and there have been some rumblings that general manager Paul Fenton has been looking to shake up his roster in one way or another. 

The most notable rumor has of course been the rumor linking the Wild to as of yet unsigned Toronto Maple Leafs restricted free agent William Nylander and although that would be a dream scenario for the Wild it does not sound like it's going to happen. Wild insider Mike Russo of The Athletic revealed on Monday that the Wild would almost assuredly have to give up veteran defenseman Matt Dumba in any deal involving Nylander and based on Russo's comments it sounds like Fenton does not have much apetitite for filling one gap in his line up by blowing a hole throw another part of that very same line up.

That does not mean however that Fenton is not still actively looking at every possible he has to potentially improve his roster moving forward and Russo has listed 4 current members of the Wild as players that "would likely move" in the event that Fenton did pull the trigger on a trade in season. As you would expect the Wild's top stars are nowhere to be seen on this list but there are however some interesting names to be had here. 

#3 J.T. Brown & Matt Hendricks.

In third place we have two players as they are both at very similar points in their career. Both Hendricks and Brown have established themselves as serviceable players at the National Hockey League level but both of them don't really brign a great deal to the table beyond that. It's for this reason that Russo has described both men as expendable pieces of the Wild's current roster, but that also means that they won't be the players who generate a huge return for you.

#2 Nino Niederreiter

Perhaps the most disappointing name on this list is that of 26 year old forward Nino Niederreiter Since he elevated his game to the next level during the 2016 - 2017 NHL regular season Niederreiter has simply failed to recapture that former glory. His point production dipped significantly last season and his 2 goals and 8 assists through the first 21 games of this season have continued that trend of disappointment. 

At this stage the Wild know what they have in Niederreiter and given their need on the right side of the wing I could easily envision a scenario in which they look to swap him for a winger playing on that side of the ice. 

#1 Charlie Coyle.

Perhaps the biggest name on this list is also the player I believe would be the most likely to be traded by the Minnesota Wild. We've already heard rumors linking him to the Montreal Canadiens organization in the past, although those have since died down entirely, and it would come as very little surprise to learn that the Wild are shopping him around as they search for a way to improve their roster. In spite of flashes of greatness during his career Coyle has never been able to maintain that greatness for any consistent length of time. He does however still have considerable value, especially given the fact that he plays the center position, and that alone could make him the top trade target in any deal involving the Wild.