By paying the hefty cost to land rental centre Martin Hanzal, the Minnesota Wild, as general manager Chuck Fletcher is quick to point out, are “just putting our chips in the middle of the table for this year.”
But just how many other teams will be as eager to take a similar gamble and go all-in by meeting the inflated asking prices which the trade market clearly has established leading up to Wednesday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline?
Heading into Monday night's schedule, 23 of 30 National Hockey League teams either held a playoff spot or were within seven points of one.