The Wild cut ties with three-time All-Star Devan Dubnyk on Monday, finding a taker for the 34-year-old goalie in San Jose.
The Sharks get a veteran entering the final season of his contract, along with a seventh round pick in two years. The only return for the Wild is a fifth-rounder in 2022.
The Wild will retain half of Dubnyk's salary, an NHL source confirmed. He is due to make $2.5 million in the final season of his contract, so the Wild pays $1.25 million and also must absorb $2.2 million of his salary cap hit.
"It is part of the change that's going on here," Wild General Manager Bill Guerin said. "We need to go in a different direction. Devan and I had some very good open conversations in the last little while, and in the end, I think this is best for the Minnesota Wild."
There are veteran goalies available in free agency, which begins Friday.
"I'm up for anything," Guerin said. "There are definitely a lot of options out there. We'll see what transpires in the next few days.
Earlier Monday, in a separate deal, the Wild sent 24-year-old center Ryan Donato to San Jose for a 2021 third-round draft pick on the eve of the 2020 draft.
Dubnyk led the NHL in games played in 2018-19, but his departure was imminent when Guerin expressed his disappointment in the team's goaltending at season's end.
At .897, the Wild had the third-worst save percentage in the NHL in the regular season and a bottom-10 goals-against average (3.14), a drop-off that prompted Guerin to cut ties with longtime goaltending coach Bob Mason.
Dubnyk's on-ice struggles coupled with his absence during the season while his wife, Jenn, dealt with a medical situation opened the door for backup Alex Stalock to become the Wild's starter, and Stalock _ not Dubnyk _ played all four of the Wild's playoff games against the Canucks.
Overall, Dubnyk went 12-15-2 with an .890 save percentage and 3.35 goals-against average.
He has a six-year, $26 million contract, which he signed after resurrecting his career with the Wild during the 2014-15 season.
Dubynk was the 14th overall pick of the 2004 draft by Edmonton. He also played for Nashville and Arizona before the Wild acquired him on Jan. 5, 2015. He immediately became a star, and was third in Vezina (best goalie) voting and fourth in Hart (MVP) balloting.
Stalock had strong moments during the past season, and Kaapo Kahkonen was impressive in his five-game NHL debut, then won the American Hockey League's top goalie award while playing for the Iowa Wild.
"We got a small sample size last year," Guerin said. "(Kahkonen) definitely needs to get in a lot more games so he's not an unknown entity. We're going to have to get him more games.
"This is a competition, it's always a competition. That's the business we're in. That's just the way this life is. No matter who you are, someone's gunning for your job."
Also Monday, the Wild signed defenseman Carson Soucy, who could have been a free agent Friday, to a three-year deal and restricted free agent center Nico Sturm to a two-year contract.
