During the first day of training camp on September 22nd, 2021, Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin addressed the team. Guerin called on team captain Jared Spurgeon, asking “what’s it all about” who said, “Hard work and having fun.”
Minnesota’s GM snapped back, “fuck that, its about fucking winning” to a beaming smile by Spurgeon and many members of the team. That statement was not just a message to the team but to a fan base that era of complacency being satisfied by simply being ‘good enough’ was over.
Initially the team jumped out to a fast start, but after the NHL All Star break the team’s momentum stalled. Fans began to wonder if the team would swing a trade for a top line center like Tomas Hertl or Claude Giroux.
As the losses piled up, a move was finally made. Although not quite the move many fans expected.
Minnesota dealt bottom 6 center, Nico Sturm to the Colorado Avalanche for forward Tyson Jost.
Sturm had 9 goals, 8 assists, 8 penalty minutes in 53 games this season. However, the former Clarkson star had been a healthy scratch the last few games and was set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Meanwhile, Jost has 6 goals, 8 assists, 30 penalty minutes and was a +1 in 59 games for the Avalanche this season.
He’s mostly anchored Colorado’s 3rd line averaging 12:49 of ice time per game, but some think the former 1st round pick (10th overall) from 2016 is capable of more given a larger role which he was never able to secure on a deep Avalanche team.
Was this move meant to be a ‘kick in the ass’ to his struggling team by Wild GM Bill Guerin? Does the team hope a change of scenery will spark Jost, a 24-year old forward with speed and offensive potential if he’s given more ice time and a top 6 opportunity?
Perhaps a little bit of both.
Unlike the nearly 27-year old Sturm who was set to be a UFA this summer, Jost is signed through next season at $2 million a year. So he’s not just a late-season rental. Colorado gains a versatile forward with size who moves well and works hard. You probably don’t trade him to a division rival unless you’re fundamentally disappointed in him some way.
If you read this article from Milehighsticking.com from 2020 there was some debate as to what Jost’s offensive potential was, but the left-shooting center had 45 goals, 58 assists in 321 games over the course of 6 seasons. One area that should make one question just how much he’ll ‘add’ to the Wild is his faceoffs where he’s just one 39% of them this season. Yikes.
Another possible polarizing player in Minnesota, say it ain’t so?!?!
He has shown the ability to be used on the penalty kill and that certainly is an area where the team needs any amount of improvement it can get.
I think we’ve seen this movie before. A younger player struggles with their consistency from game to game, so the team makes a trade hoping another team’s struggling player will click with your club.
Mattias Weinhandl, Sean Bergenheim, Erik Christensen and Pontus Aberg are all players whom the team made ‘change of scenery’ deals with that same hope and most didn’t amount to much. So I would suggest keeping your expectations low.
One would think by making a trade for Jost the Wild are also not likely to call up Marco Rossi from Iowa. Rossi has been reasonably productive in Iowa if you just look at his offensive statistics. Yet there are parts of his game that make me think he’s not NHL ready just yet (lack of strength, struggles in his play at even strength, effort has been inconsistent shift to shift).
But it is his first full season as a professional and all things considered I think its wise the Wild are slow playing his promotion.
Jost gives the team a skilled center, who has speed and a modicum of offensive ability. It also helps reduce the urge to break up the Jordan Greenway, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno 3rd line. If the former North Dakota standout can provide some penalty kill minutes he can also help reduce some of the workload for Eriksson Ek as well.
With the NHL trade deadline approaching on March 21st, perhaps this is the test shot. Will this team respond positively to this move and improve its play and give the club a reason to make another move at the deadline or will it continue to look mentally fragile which will probably prompt a fire sale of sorts.
Only time will tell. Yet in the here and now, Tyson Jost, welcome to the Minnesota Wild!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
