Wild acquire center Hanzal

Published 10:12 am Monday, February 27, 2017

In acquiring center Martin Hanzal, the Minnesota Wild are going all in trying to win the Stanley Cup this season.

The Wild traded a 2017 first-round pick, 2018 second-round pick and conditional 2019 fourth-round pick and minor leaguer Grayson Downing to the Arizona Coyotes for Hanzal, forward Ryan White and a 2017 fourth-round pick. It’s a hefty price for the 30-year-old pending unrestricted free agent but one the Wild are willing to pay ahead of Wednesday’s NHL trade deadline.

“We’re just putting our chips in the middle of the table for this year,” Minnesota general manager Chuck Fletcher said on a conference call Sunday night. “We like our group, and we think our players deserve the best chance possible to compete and see what we can do.”

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