DENVER — On deadline day, there were no fireworks from Bill Guerin, which is pretty much what the Wild general manager previewed before Friday’s 2 p.m. CT last call.
Guerin sent injured forward Pat Maroon to Boston for prospect Luke Toporowski and a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2026 entry draft, and swapped Iowa center Nick Petan to the New York Rangers for veteran forward Turner Elson.
Both acquisitions will report to the Wild’s American Hockey League team in Des Moines.
Toporowski, 22, had 22 goals and 46 points in 96 games with the Providence Bruins. Maroon, 35, is on injured reserve after undergoing back surgery last month. He began skating on his own this week.
Meanwhile, Brandon Duhaime, traded Thursday to Colorado, was at Ball Arena preparing to meet his former team at 8 p.m. Wednesday. The forward said he expected to be in the lineup. A pending unrestricted free agent, Duhaime packed extra clothes for the Wild’s two-game road trip because he suspected he might be traded before Friday.
“I was pretty aware of the situation, but it’s part of the business, part of the game, and I’m happy to be here,” he said. “Excited to be here.”
The Wild started the day seven points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, while the Avalanche were fourth, by percentage points behind Winnipeg, and six points behind first-place Vancouver. His initial reaction to the trade, Duhaime said, was, “excitement, for sure.”
“Being part of a team like this and how good they are and their momentum and where they’re headed right now, it’s a good path,” he said Friday after a morning skate with his new team. “And I’m excited to be on this journey with them.”
Briefly
Kirill Kaprizov’s second-period power-play goal in Thursday’s 5-2 victory at Arizona gave him 30 goals for 2023-24, and made him the first Wild player to score at least 30 in three consecutive seasons.
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