The Minnesota Wild are not shopping 22-year-old defenseman Jonas Brodin, but they are getting calls on the defensively sound Swede, according to The Star Tribune’s Michael Russo.
Brodin is currently out of the lineup with a broken foot, but has returned to the ice in practice and is nearing a return. They’ve sorely missed the responsible top four defender. The Wild have seen a 0.42 goals per game increase over their season average in the 12 games that Brodin has been absent.
He’s steadily been a part of the team’s second pairing with Marco Scandella this season and in previous seasons had been a part of the top pairing with Ryan Suter, but Jared Spurgeon claimed that spot this year. Part of the reason for Spurgeon jumping up into that position is a matter of pairing players by handedness.
Brodin had previously been rumored to be a part of an offer to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Ryan Johansen. In the last few days reports have surfaced of the Washington Capitals inquiring about Brodin and the Boston Bruins discussing Brodin as a part of a deal involving Loui Eriksson.
ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the Wild are in on discussions for Mikkel Boedker and Jonathan Drouin, and that they may inquire about Jamie McGinn if talks on the other two don’t yield results.
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