The Minnesota Wild announced this afternoon that they have traded forward Brandon Duhaime to the Colorado Avalanche. In return, the Wild will receive a 2026 third-round pick.
While it was well-known that there was a lot of interest in Duhaime from playoff teams, it will still come as a blow to fans who considered him their emotional-support fourth-liner. It will also be hard to separate him from his usual partner Connor Dewar, who is the other Dewey on the team. The Deweys have played together since they were in the AHL together.
Duhaime is a gritty, physical winger who has been a staple on the fourth line. At times, he can play on the third line, but he is not known for putting up many points. This season, he has 4 goals and 4 assists. Duhaime is a great asset on the penalty kill and is never afraid to drop the gloves. The only downside to Duhaime is that sometimes he ends up in a fight that he cannot win. Last season, he was knocked out of the lineup twice with concussions from fights on the ice.
Duhaime was drafted by the Wild in the fourth round of the 2016 NHL Draft at 106 overall. He played two seasons for the Iowa Wild (2019-2021) before making the Minnesota Wild team out of training camp for the 2021-22 season. Since then, Duhaime has played 193 games with the Wild and has 35 points (19 goals and 16 assists). He is on a one-year, $1.1 million contract. He will be an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Adam Beckman, who was recalled this morning by the Wild, has been skating in Duhaime’s spot alongside Dewar and Freddy Gaudreau.
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