Michael McCarron was traded to the Minnesota Wild by the Nashville Predators on Tuesday for a second-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft.
The 30-year-old power forward has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 59 games this season. He also led the Predators in hits (165), was second in face-offs taken (811), third in blocked shots (60), sixth in takeaways (17), and first among their forwards in short-handed ice time per game (2:29).
“He brings a lot, and face-offs are one element of his game that we really like,” Wild general manager Bill Guerin said. “[Coach John Hynes] had him before, so there’s some comfort there with the coach and the player, which I think is good. But yeah, face-offs is something we’ve been needing to improve and looking to improve. I think Mike has the ability to be a really good face-off guy, and on the penalty kill, too. And the right shot, it’s hard on your off side, and I think just to have that right-handed guy is important also.”
McCarron is in the final season of a two-year, $1.8 million contract ($900,000 average annual value) he signed with Nashville on Feb. 16, 2024.
Selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round (No. 25) of the 2013 NHL Draft, McCarron has 74 points (33 goals, 41 assists) in 361 regular-season games for the Canadiens and Predators. He does not have a point in nine Stanley Cup Playoff games.
“It’s nice to have. A bigger body, heavier guy (6-foot-6, 232 pounds), but he gets around the ice,” Guerin said. “And like I said, he’s a good penalty killer, and he’s very competitive, which is attractive. So, there are a lot of elements to his game that we like.”
Minnesota (35-16-10) is third in the Central Division, three points behind the Dallas Stars and nine points behind the Colorado Avalanche.
Nashville (27-25-8) is four points behind the Edmonton Oilers for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference.
NHL.com independent correspondent Jessi Pierce contributed to this report.