Minnesota Wild trades Nico Sturm to Avalanche for Tyson Jost
Tyson Jost #17 of the Colorado Avalanche skates against the Calgary Flames at Ball Arena on March 13, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. ((Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS - The NHL trade deadline isn’t until next Monday, but that didn’t stop Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin from shaking up the roster with about a week to go.
The Wild on Tuesday traded Nico Sturm to the Colorado Avalanche for forward Tyson Jost. Sturm, 26, was in his fourth season with the Wild, and had played 103 games with Minnesota the last two years. He had 36 points, including 20 goals, in 11 games with the Wild going back to 2018.
Sturm had nine goals and eight assists in 53 games this year.
Jost, 24, has 14 points in 59 games with the Avalanche this season. He has six goals this season, and was a first round pick by the Avalanche out of North Dakota in 2016.
"I think they’re very different players. I think Tyson is probably a little more skilled. I think he needs an opportunity to showcase his skills more. I think he’ll be able to get that with us," Guerin told reporters Tuesday afternoon. "I think it’s a win-win because I think both players were in need of a change."
It might not be the only change coming before next Monday, with the Wild in a bit of a slide. They lost to the Nashville Predators 6-2 on Sunday, the same night the franchise retired Mikko Koivu’s No. 9 jersey.
The Wild is 3-6-1 in its last 10 games, and has dropped to fifth in the Western Conference at 72 points after being as high as the No. 2 spot.
Guerin said the Wild’s play hasn’t met his expectations, or anyone else’s, over the last 15 games. Minnesota is 5-9-1 over that stretch.
"I know the character of these guys and I think if you ask them, they’re the first ones to tell you that they haven’t been playing as well as they can and they’ll need to be better. We do need them to be better, we need a ton of guys on our team to be better," Guerin said. "We haven’t been good enough for the last 15 games."
Guerin also said if the Wild is going to get out of the rut and win more games, it won’t be through shaking up the roster by next Monday. It’ll be by getting back to their identity, and hard work.
"You can’t trade your way out of problems, it’s just impossible. If you have a problem, a trade is not going to fix it. I’m not trying to fix it, I’m trying to make us better," Guerin said.