The Minnesota Wild have acquired winger Blake Coleman and defenceman Olli Maatta from the Calgary Flames for defenceman Jake Middleton and a trio of draft picks (a 2^nd, a 3^rd, and a 4^th rounder), per Elliotte Friedman. Coleman had 20 goals , 35 points, 152 hits, and 176 shots in 69 games last season. He has one year left on his current contract and turns 35 years old in November.

Let's break it down.

What Minnesota Gets

With both Vladimir Tarasenko and Marcus Johansson unlikely to return to the Wild, and Mats Zuccarello signing elsewhere, there are plenty of open winger roles in Minnesota, and Coleman now has one of those roles. He is one of the better two-way wingers in the league, he can kill penalties, and now he's going to a team with Stanley Cup aspirations.

There is a chance here for Coleman to have a very productive season. After Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, the wings are wide open for anyone to step in. The likes of the Foligno brothers (though Nick does play some centre), Bobby Brink, and Yakov Trenin are the competition for Coleman to effectively be the team's #3 winger. In other words: not much competition. The departure of Zuccarello does open a spot on the top power-play unit, though it's like Ryan Hartman and Danila Yurov get a crack there before Coleman has a chance of those precious PP minutes.

For an idea of what Coleman could do in Minnesota, Johansson just had a 49-point season where he skated 15:25 per game. Tarasenko had 23 goals and 47 points skating a little under 15 minutes a game. If Coleman assumes the Johansson spot on the second line, then playing with Boldy, and having Quinn Hughes on the blue line, gives Coleman a chance to crack the 40-point mark for the first time in three years.

This addition does give the aforementioned names like Brink and Trenin direct competition, and they are assuredly behind Coleman on the depth chart now. Again, either of Hartman or Yurov should get the power-play opportunities, but the wingers are now all pushed down a notch.

What Calgary Gets

Middleton kills penalties and is fine defensively, but doesn't bring much offence. With the Flames having the trio of Zayne Parekh, Simon Nemec, and Hunter Brzustewicz, Middleton doesn't have to bring much offence. He just has to stay sturdy in his own end and take some of the heat off the younger players. He should see a sharp rise in ice time from the 17:30 he earned last year, and Maatta was skating 22:30 per game with the Flames. Maybe Middleton doesn't get that high, but it's not hard seeing him be in the 21- to 22-minute range, and that is great news for a guy who is one of the top per-minute shot blockers in the NHL. Even a full season should see him struggle to get to 20 points, but he's in line for 150 blocks and 100 hits. That gives him some multi-cat value.

It does create a bit of a logjam on the blue line, at least for now. There is Middleton, Kevin Bahl, and Zach Whitecloud alongside the trio of young blue liners mentioned earlier. Add in Joel Hanley, Brayden Pachal, and Yan Kuznetsov, and there are nine defencemen for seven roster spots. It wouldn't be surprising to see Parekh get some AHL time. There is always the chance that Parekh is undeniable in camp and never sees the AHL again, but he's the only guy who doesn't need waivers to be sent down, and the Flames would risk losing an NHL defencemen to waivers if they sent Hanley or Pachal to the AHL. That isn't to say they wouldn't do it, but it's not a clear path just yet.

Who This Helps

Blake Coleman

Yegor Sharangovich

Matvei Gridin

Who This Hurts

Joel Hanley

Zayne Parekh

Bobby Brink

Yakov Trenin