A little more than a month ago the Minnesota Wild looked like they were finished in the Western Conference playoff race.
Now, less than a week before the NHL trade deadline, they are not only back into a playoff position for the time being, they are also adding to their roster. Again.
The Wild acquired forward Sean Bergenheim and a seventh-round draft pick from the Florida Panthers in exchange for a 2016 third-round selection.
It's the second move the Wild have made over the past two months, having previously acquired goalie Devan Dubnyk from the Arizona Coyotes in a move that completely turned their season around. The Bergenheim acquisition may not that big of an impact, but it is still a pretty solid move by general manager Chuck Fletcher.
Bergenheim had fallen out of favor in Florida while his agent recently asked the team to trade his client after he had been a healthy scratch and had his effort questioned.
Bergenheim has been a very solid player throughout his career. In 39 games with the Panthers this season he has eight goals to go with 10 assists. He is a solid two-way player that is also one of the better forwards in the league when it comes to driving possession. Since the start of the 2011-12 season Bergenheim's 54.4 percent Corsi percentage is 35th among all NHL forwards that have played at least 1,500 minutes (via Hockey Analysis).
Bergenheim has been a terrific producer in his limited postseason experience, scoring 12 goals in 23 games with the Lightning and Panthers.
