With the Wild having 23 games in the season's final 41 days once their "bye" ends Monday _ and with a 16-game month of March around the corner _ general manager Chuck Fletcher echoed precisely what Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman said before Tuesday's Wild-Blackhawks game.
The Ottawa Senators losing three players in one game a night earlier was a chilling reminder you can never have too much depth.
If the Wild want to survive potential injuries and fatigue during the stretch run and chore through what it hopes is four playoff rounds, improving the forward depth may be the team's biggest need as next Wednesday's trade deadline approaches.
"I think that's fair. I think we've got more unproven depth up front than we do on defense," Fletcher said, referring to beyond the Wild's 10 proven NHL forwards. "We have (Jordan) Schroeder and (Tyler) Graovac, who are here, but the guys behind them (in Iowa) are a little more unproven.
"That's why you're always talking to see if somebody you can get can fit in and contribute and upgrade your depth. If you can do that, I think you need to do that."
What makes this trade deadline more challenging than most is a lot of teams are thinking the same way.
In the East, of the eight teams outside the playoff bubble heading into Wednesday's action, six were within six points of a playoff spot. In the West, of the six teams outside the playoff bubble, three were within six points.
"There's still a lot of teams in a wait-and-see mode," Fletcher said. "There doesn't seem to be as many teams right now actively selling. There are a lot more teams either holding or looking to buy."
There are a few other key issues complicating matters: 1) Few teams, including the Wild, want to add term beyond this season because of the limited number of players who can be protected in June's Vegas expansion draft and the fact this season's $73 million salary cap is not expected to rise significantly _ if at all _ next season; 2) Buyers, like the Wild, don't have a lot of available cap space for trade-deadline moves.
