Last week, Bill Guerin’s job as general manager of the United States was helping to find a way to stop Connor McDavid at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
We all know how that worked out.
This week, his job as GM of the Minnesota Wild is to find a way to improve before the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline on March 7 at 3 p.m. ET, a task that is being made more difficult by injuries to some of his key players and their salary cap implications.
"We have to wait until closer to the deadline to actually see how much (salary cap) space we have at that time, and then kind of where our injuries are, when guys are going to be able to come back, if they're going to be able to come back," Guerin said. "So, it's really just a matter of being patient."
Forward Kirill Kaprizov had surgery in late January because of a lower-body injury and was originally projected to be out a minimum of four weeks, but Guerin said earlier this week it will be longer.
Then, on Monday, forward Joel Eriksson Ek was injured during practice and was placed on injured reserve the following day with a lower-body injury. The initial prognosis is that the center will be out "for a few weeks."
“Right now, we don’t know how long Kirill will be out, I just know it’ll be longer than expected,” Guerin said. “And 'Ekie' is week-to-week, but I think he'll be back before Kirill.”
After the United States’ crushing 3-2 overtime loss to Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off title game Feb. 20, it’s hardly the welcome back to the NHL he envisioned.
Do not sympathize for Guerin, however. He’ll have none of it.
“No excuses,” he said. “We’ll do what we have to to win.”
To that end, Guerin talked exclusively with NHL.com about all things trade deadline, the heartbreak of being one goal away from winning the 4 Nations, and how long it took to get over it.
First off, you barely had time to transition from your job with USA Hockey at 4 Nations and the disappointment at how it ended, to jumping back into overseeing the Wild, including a looming trade deadline that will have you, as you pointed out, looking at moving targets right to the end because of injuries. How difficult has it been to jump right back into the NHL fray?
“There are still a lot of emotions coming out of the 4 Nations. But it’s my job. I do have a huge responsibility to the Minnesota Wild. So I better give my head a shake and get right back into it. And I gave myself 24, 48 hours after the final game to deal with the emotions. But now I’m back into the full swing of things, and things are back to normal in that I’m fully focused on the Wild.”
Are there any specific positions on your team you’d like to address via trade before the deadline?
“Again, it’s all contingent on moving parts and the health or lack thereof on our team. Look, we can say we want one thing, and then something else transpires. I don’t think it does any good to say, ‘Hey, this is what we want.’ I think going in with some flexibility is good.”
The Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek injuries are the most recent in a long line of them that your team has been plagued with this season. Those two, along with forward Mats Zuccarello and defensemen Jared Spurgeon, Jake Middleton and Jonas Brodin, have all missed at least 10 games due to various ailments, while forward Ryan Hartman is serving an eight-game suspension. How has your team managed to stay in the Stanley Cup Playoff race despite all that adversity?
“We’re focused on this year. Like I said earlier, there are no excuses. Our players have been playing hard this year. Our coaches have been working hard this year. This year is what matters.”
What's been the key to staying in the mix? Entering Friday still third in the Central Division with 72 points.
“It’s been amazing. I think the players and the coaches have done an amazing job of piecing this thing together. Some guys are playing in roles that they're not necessarily used to, playing in, up and down the line, assuming different responsibilities, doing whatever they can. And I think that's a sign of a real team, especially when guys have a high buy-in level like they’ve had. They've done a really good job. It would be nice to have a full team at some point in time this season. Maybe we will. But until then, we're really proud of the job that the guys in the lineup have done every night.”
Two of those guys are forward Matt Boldy and defenseman Brock Faber. Wild fans are familiar with how good they are, but the rest of the hockey world learned that, too, at the 4 Nations where they were two of the best players on your USA team. What was your evaluation of their performance?
“Couldn’t be more proud of them. But I wasn’t surprised. Matt was the leading scorer at the Worlds last year. He doesn’t shy away from the big stage. Neither does Brock. That was evident.”
Who would you say maybe emerged from the pack on your USA team, someone that may have surprised you a bit by raising their game?
“I think (Carolina Hurricanes) Jaccob Slavin brought himself to a different level. I think the entire hockey world was kind of like, ‘Wow.’ Everyone knew he was really good. But he was exceptional in this tournament. He’s on a different level now.”
When we talked last month prior to the tournament, you were adamant about how the USA, no matter how talented a team it was, needed to get over the hump, as you called it. You pointed out close calls the team has had, like at the 2010 Olympics, where the USA was so close, forced the game to overtime, then just couldn’t finish Canada off before Sidney Crosby scored the Golden Goal. Once again, at 4 Nations, you were on the cusp, only to have Canadian goalie Jordan Binnington make a trio of huge saves before McDavid’s heroics. How frustrating was that? And what does your team need to overcome that so-called hump?
“I mean, literally, that's how close it was. And it’s one of those things where we do have to get over the hump again. It didn't happen this time, but we have to keep working toward it. It’s not like something's broken. We just have to keep pushing forward. We had our opportunities, and it came down to the best player in the world making a great shot. That's what it came to.”
Talk about your emotions in the aftermath of that moment.
“It was tough. It was disappointing. But, you know, you’ve got to take a step back. I'm so proud of our team. It came down to one shot. I think both teams played a pretty much flawless game. I mean, it was hockey that’s as good as it's ever been. It’s disappointing not to be on the winning side, but when you're not, you really have got to just take a step back and look at the positives. And there were a ton for us. And I think now, working toward the Olympics, we learned a lot. But I'm very proud of our team. It could have gone either way. They got the last shot. That's the way it goes. But I'm very, very proud of our team and the way they represented our country.”
How much did your team’s play encourage you heading into the Olympics next winter in Italy?
“I’m definitely encouraged. I feel really good about the team and the way they played in this tournament. We're just going to have to prepare and make sure that we're on task again, because it's not going to get easier, I'll tell you that. The Olympics are going to be more intense. There’s more teams. Everything’s going to be heightened. It's going to be a bigger stage now. It's really going to be on the world stage. I think the 4 Nations really set the stage for an incredible Olympics.”
Finally, are you aware, even after coming up short in the title game, how much your team and the entire tournament did in spreading the sport throughout the U.S. and, for that matter, across the globe? It was the talk of the sports world, to be sure.
“A little bit. And it definitely makes me happy, makes me proud, because we do have a good team. To be honest with you, when I look back on the tournament, players from all four teams deserve the credit. Look, managers manage, coaches coach. This is an in-season tournament. Those were no exhibition games. The players laid it all out there, and that's what triggered this whole thing. The seriousness that the players had in their game brought hockey to a different level. I think, when people are talking about hockey, I think our team had a lot to do with it, yep, but I think all four teams had a lot to do with it, Canadians, Swedes, Finns, Americans, the players in our league, to me, not only are they the best athletes, but I think they're the most invested people in their game. Look at the games that were played. That's a mid-season tournament. Maybe they got a little bit of money for it, but that's not paying their bills. That was all done on pride for their countries. And I think people really took notice of that.”
