Wild to sign Yakov Trenin to four-year deal

Center Yakov Trenin.

The Wild are signing forward Yakov Trenin, sources tell Bally Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland. It’s a four-year deal with a $3.5M cap hit, PuckPedia adds.

With the deal, Minnesota pays a premium for arguably the most pure checking forward on the market. Trenin, 27, was a second-round pick of the Predators in 2015. He spent his first four and a half NHL seasons there before a trade deadline deal this year sent him to the Avalanche. Understandably, with a bit of a salary cap crunch in Colorado, the team opted not to retain him for the price he ended up going for.

Trenin has size at 6’2″ and 201 pounds, but his offensive upside is somewhat limited. His career high is 17 goals and 24 points, both set with Nashville in the 2021-22 season. He’s a strong penalty killer, as that’s where he’s received a solid chunk of the around 15 minutes per game he’s averaged the past three years. This season was tough for him offensively, dropping to 12 goals and 17 points in 76 games between the Avs and Preds, but he did post a career-high +15 rating backed up by decent possession numbers for his defense-oriented role.

While he’s effective in his role, $3.5M is a lot of money to spend for a Trenin-type player for a Wild team that had the 21st-ranked offense last season. With only $6.25M in projected cap space entering the day, this is likely their lone big-name free-agent acquisition.

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