Guerin was in the middle of preparing meatballs for Christmas Eve dinner. Christmas was indeed coming early for the Wild, with Rutherford accepting Guerin's offer of Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam Ohgren and a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft in exchange for the 2023-24 Norris Trophy winner.

After a lousy start, the Wild turned around their fortunes, and now they have added a franchise player for a Stanley Cup run.

With the Minnesota Wild on the road, Bill Guerin went on a scouting tour last week heading into the ever-important Dec. 31 roster decisions he and his Team USA staff will have to make as the United States attempts to win its third men’s hockey gold medal and first since 1980 at the Winter Olympics this February in Italy.

The Wild have become one of the toughest teams to play against, gaining points and climbing up the standings. The Wild have earned 30 standings points since Nov. 1, a number topped only by the Avalanche and Stars, each of whom has earned 33. Amazingly, each of the three teams sit in the loaded Central Division.

The Wild made blockbuster NHL news by acquiring superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes from Vancouver on Friday night, and the return was steep. Wild President of Hockey Operations Bill Guerin sent Marco Rossi,

Cole Caufield is having a great time. The Canadiens’ forward scored his 15th goal of the season last night, giving him 30 points in just 27 games this season… and just one behind Nick Suzuki. He finds different ways to outwit opposing goalies,

Bill Guerin said the group picking the United States roster for the Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026 are "a good way there" in terms of putting it together, but it's still an open competition among many of the players who have pushed their way into the discussion with their play this season.