Every year at this time of the NHL season, fans and analysts across the country try to figure out what it would cost to acquire a superstar player. Although it rarely happens, like teams fear costly steps that don’t produce the desired results, which doesn’t stop some fans from thinking outside the box.
So when Elliotte Freidman wondered if the Minnesota Wild could explore the moving goalie Jesper Wallstedt for a top centrethe hosts of Judd’s Hockey Show put together a proposal. In exchange for Wallstedt, Ryan Hartman, Charlie Stramel, Aron Kiviharju, a 2027 first-round pick and a 2026 third-round pick, the Wild would acquire Tim Stutzle and James Reimer from the Ottawa Senators.
Commerce was almost universally destroyed online. Wild fans felt the team gave up too much for one player, while Senators fans were baffled as to why anyone would think Ottawa would make a trade for Stutzle in any capacity. It showed all the hallmarks of the worst sham trades around the deadline: an unrealistic trade target, insultingly low costs for the home side and complete ignorance of another team’s situation. Simply put, it was a bad deal.
But to give the hosts of the Judd’s Hockey Show the benefit of the doubt, there is some logic to their approach. What would it take to acquire Stutzle? A bit of recent history should give us a better idea of what the senators would ask, and why they would immediately hang up the phone if his name ever came up during a trade call.
Why trading doesn’t work
As bad as it is, there is admittedly some logic to the trade. The Senators have performed well below expectations this season, especially in the goaltending department. Linus Ullmark has been inconsistent at best, and backups Leevi Merilainen and Mads Sogaard have continued to show they aren’t ready for full-time NHL spots. Returning to the playoffs this season is becoming increasingly unrealistic, and it might make more sense for the team to redevelop and add some assets to its dwindling potential pool.
However, trading Stutzle is not the solution to any problem. The Senators spent years rebuilding and eventually saw some positive results when the team made the playoffs in 2024-2025. Yes, things haven’t gone as smoothly this season, but they are on track to be a contender again next season, especially with their core of Stutzle, Jake Sanderson and Brady Tkachuk. Removing any of those will set the team back several years, likely resulting in Tkachuk walking away when his contract expires.
There is also no point in signing a goalkeeper who would have to act as a backup for the rest of the season. No one is making excuses for his poor record and stats, but they aren’t trying to move him anytime soon either. When he arrived in Ottawa, he stabilized a fold that had been in turmoil for years. Some of that anxiety returned this season and has undone much of the progress the Senators made last season. But if he can get back on track, this team will be very difficult to beat.
Ullmark has always been honest about his achievements; in the recent TSN interview, he said”I don’t mind people thinking I’m a bad goalkeeper or anything like that. I’m the first to notice when I don’t play to my own standards.” He spoke clearly about his own “terrible showing” in preseason and remains candid with fans and colleagues about where he stands. That has earned him a lot of respect within the Senators organization, and also the benefit of the doubt. Therefore, he currently earns $8.25 million through 2028-2029. That leaves no room for Wallstedt.
Related: Why the Ottawa Senators should make the call about Jesper Wallstedt
Finally, there’s the paltry return the Senators got for their young star. Stutzle’s $8.35 million cap hit makes him one of the NHL’s most affordable first-line players, and at 55 points, Ottawa is currently paying just $152,000 per point. That’s a better bang for your buck than Leon Draisaitl, David Pastrnak, Mikko Rantanen and Mitch Marner, and at 24 years old, he’s still getting better. Before his contract expires in 2030-31, he could have multiple 100-point campaigns, which would provide the Senators with incredible value.
Meanwhile, Stramel and Kiviharju aren’t expected to be anything more than really solid middle-of-the-lineup players, Hartman isn’t much more than a 35-point, gritty winger, and the draft picks won’t turn into anything until after the Senators’ playoff window is long closed. It may be a lot of pieces, but they don’t really add up to much when the return is Stutzle.
What might a Stutzle trade look like?
At this point, Stutzle is untouchable, but if we imagine the Senators approaching the trade deadline and looking to break up their core and deploy new tools, there is some recent history that can give us an idea of a potential return. Ironically, the best example comes from the Wild after they get paid acquire Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks.
In that deal, Minnesota sent Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren, Zeev Buium and a 2026 first-round pick to acquire the superstar defenseman. Or, in other words, they gave Vancouver a future top-pairing defenseman, a 24-year-old top-six center and a hard-hitting top-nine winger, and (at this point in the season) they were all first-round picks. Another late first-round pick could realistically create the bulk of a top-six line for Vancouver in the future.
The Wild likely can’t afford such a deal, but they could get close with a package of Matt Boldy, David Jiricek and Danila Yurov, plus the two aforementioned picks. The Senators can use Wallstedt, but not if Stutzle goes the other way, hence the move for Boldy, which not only helps balance the salary cap but also gives Ottawa a potential top-four right guard and a much-needed top winger.
However, trading is still not great. Ottawa finally finds its top-line winger, but loses its top-line center and is left with center depth issues. Jiricek is also a huge gamble. He looked fantastic when drafted sixth overall in 2022, but he has had a tough adjustment to the NHL and still has zero points in 24 games this season. Yurov is an intriguing addition to the Senators as he plays a physical two-way game that fits well with the current lineup, but he is still a few years away from making a significant impact. Finally, the lack of a 2026 first-round pick should be a dealbreaker for Ottawa, especially with their forfeited pick.
Things aren’t much better for Minnesota. Although they find a first-line center, they continue to deplete their dwindling prospect pool and are still in trouble. It puts a lot of pressure on performing this season because there aren’t many pieces left to support the team if things don’t work out.
It shows that the cliché is true: it’s hard to make business in the NHL. That’s why fake trades are so fun and why they get so much backlash. If a trade feels good to your team, it’s probably not realistic, and if it’s realistic, it’s probably not good for your team. There’s no world where the Senators trade Stutzle to help other parts of their lineup — it would be a guaranteed loss for Ottawa. Yet it is still interesting to imagine what a transaction might look like. After all, even Wayne Gretzky was traded.
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