Bill Guerin pulled off a trade yesterday that many are hailing as a big win for his first move as the Minnesota Wild GM. But, if his recent comments on the deal are any indication, that he was a GM capable of getting a good return wasn’t the only message he was trying to send.
TSN’s Bob McKenzie broke the news yesterday that the Wild had traded Jason Zucker to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Alex Galchenyuk, a 2020 first-round pick and Calen Addison.
When asked about the deal, one of the things Guerin said was that if he gets the impression there is a quitter’s attitude on the Wild team, he’ll make more and more deals until that attitude goes away. He told Michael Russo of The Athletic, “if there is quit, there will be more trades.”
Was this a shot directly at Jason Zucker? It certainly appears that way. Without saying so, it sounds like Zucker was traded because he’d given up in Minnesota.
It could be possible considering he’d just publicly told the media in Minnesota he was done talking about a deal and that if he was traded, he was traded. But, perhaps this quote is meant to send a message to the team because Guerin feels there’s something rotten going on.
Perhaps the idea is that he’s sending a distinct message to his players that if you want job security, despite what your contract says, you’ll need to work for it. Whether that be demotions, scratched or simply being moved out of your home and sent to a new city, the GM wants everyone’s max effort.
For a GM who took a really long time to make his first deal, it sounds like he’s ready to make a few more. And for players who don’t want to be with the Wild any longer, here’s your opportunity to leave.
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