On June 24th, 2011, the Wild sent budding star and pending free agent defenseman Brent Burns west to San Jose in exchange for a package of players that would shape the rosters of both teams for years to come. Former 30-goal scorer Devin Setoguchi was considered the crown jewel of the package at the time, but it would be 28th-overall pick Charlie Coyle that would go on to cement himself in the future plans for Minnesota. When evaluating trades, the long-time adage is that whichever team ended up with the best player won the trade. With his name continuing to gain momentum in the Norris trophy discussion and the Sharks pressing themselves farther into the Stanley Cup discussion, it is impossible to deny that Burns was the best player involved in the trade which inherently implies that the Sharks won the trade.
Looking in the rearview at the Brent Burns trade
