With Kyle Brodziak locked up for three years, the Minnesota Wild have removed one of their highest value assets that may have been a trade target. The signing sits well with seemingly everyone involved, and it was the right move to make. Inking Brodziak locks up a player that has done everything the organization has ever asked him to do, and keeps him around to help mold the future of the franchise.

It also limits what the Wild can do at the deadline, if only in a minor way. The Wild still have tradable assets, even if the value of those assets becomes more of a questions as the deadline approaches. Generally, players with time left on contracts aren't the talk of the town on deadline day. This year will be an exception to that rule for the Wild. The team also has a handful of rentals that could attract some attention.

It is certainly shaping up to be a quiet deadline for the team, and maybe even for the league. Still, we take a look at what the Wild have to sell, should someone be looking to buy.

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Coming into last week, if you would have said the one game of the four the Wild would win would be against the Bruins, I would have taken every bet you threw my way. Good thing I don't run book.

We listed the four games last week as a chance to get four points, those coming from Anaheim and Winnipeg. They got three, coming from the defending champion Bruins and loser point from the Jets. How all that works out is beyond me. Sometimes, playing up or down to your opponent works out for the best. Other times, not so much. To be sure, most of the time, not so much.

While beating the Bruins was certainly fun to watch, the reality remains that the Wild won three of the eight points available for the week. For a team still harboring playoff hopes, that's not going to cut it. Maybe they can build on the big win and get some mojo back.

Let's take a look.

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With the deadline looming, and fans getting antsy, it is time to begin our discussion of what might happen this year. We'll have further discussion as we get closer, but for now, we address the biggest question.

Are the Wild buyers or sellers.

The belief in the NHL, and surrounding the NHL, is that no team is ever out of the playoff race. Don't tell Columbus, but with the charity point and three point games, there are always a glut of teams just a few points from the playoff race. In the West, four points often separates the number eight team from the number twelve team. This gives teams a false sense of hope, and is the classic catch 22.

If a team is just four points outside the bubble, the GM sells, then the team somehow makes the playoffs and loses in the first round, the GM looks like an idiot. If the team is four points out, the GM buys thinking he will push his team, and the flop, the GM looks like an idiot. The safe bet is always to simply stand pat. And look like an idiot.

It has been a lifetime since the Wild were true buyers or sellers at the deadline. And when they were, they bought... Chris Simon. What happens this year? After the jump.

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As the season...tumbles on, many Wild fans are already looking towards the future, which is full of promise for the first time since...ever. Two of the big names in the prospect pool right now are Charlie Coyle and Zack Phillips, both acquired in the Devin Setoguchi - Brent Burns deal.

My fellow New-Brunswicker Jamie Tozer, who is in charge of the great Saint John Sea Dogs blog, Station Nation, was kind enough to give us a little update on Coyle and Phillips, two Sea Dogs stars. Coyle looks to be handling the switch from college hockey to Major Junior hockey quite well and Phillips is still dominating.

Be sure visit his blog, Station Nation, and follow him on Twitter, @station_nation, for the best Saint John Sea Dogs coverage and news on Coyle and Phillips.

Read Jamie's write-up after the jump.

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The Wild have once again turned to Houston for help. With Cal Clutterbuck out of the lineup with his third charlie horse of the year, the debut of the day belongs to Kristopher Foucault. Kris for short.

A fourth round pick on 2009, Foucault has shown a knack for the net at each level he has played at. With the Calgary Hitmen, he put up more than 40 points two seasons in a row, despite only having around 65 games to do so. He has good size, seems to play physical, and is second on the Aeros in scoring with 23 points in 43 games played.

Judging by the dearth of information on the guy, he could be just the unknown factor the Wild need. The Wild could use a boost, and NHL debuts have been good for the team. Maybe with a little hard work (Sorry Tom), Foucault can make an impact and give himself a shot to stick around. Stranger things have happened.

After the jump, a look at who the kid is.

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It's been a rough week. You all know that. Should you wish to forget, you have tow options. Skip this particular post, or grab a bottle of whiskey and start drinking. If you are at work, we recommend avoiding the second option.

It has been awhile since we had a reason to be overly positive. With the deadline coming up, maybe we'll take some time to look at that this week. Maybe not. Who knows. Much like the Wild, we are having a tough time deciding if we are buyers or sellers. Not looking forward to watching all day coverage to see Chris Simon for a sixth round pick.

Usually, the games are enough a distraction to just get a hockey fix and move through the week. Not this time. Maybe someone will write a stupid article to give us something to do.

If only.

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There is an eerie similarity between today's date, and the day the world is to end according to the Mayans. We bring this up, not because we think the Mayans are right, but because the season is all but over for the Wild. There. It has been said.

Look back at the past three years and remember what we told you then. With a team sitting in 12th place after game 55, the options are limited. Yes, it is only four points. Two games. Now start to think that those two games need to be won by the Wild, and lost by four other teams. All this in a league with a charity point that only becomes more frequently awarded as the season progresses.

Four points may as well be twelve at this point. There are no answers to be had, and from our perspective it certainly appears that the Minnesota Wild will become the first team in history to sit atop the NHL in mid December and wind up missing the playoffs.

That's the safe bet right now, anyway. Stranger things have happened, but investments generally aren't made hoping strange things happen.

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We are now 53 games into the regular season. That leaves just 29 games to go, by my math. At this point, the players on the ice are who they are, and it is time to address some concerns. Call us cynical, but when you are the key piece in a trade that sees Brent Burns go the other way, there has to be some expectations put on your shoulders.

Devin Setoguchi is on pace to have the worst full season of his career. A former 65 point, 30 goal scorer, Setoguchi has never approached those numbers since. Whether he can ever put them up again has yet to be seen, but it certainly will not be this season. At the current pace, he will score just 15 goals, and add twelve assists. Both would be career lows.

To be fair, he missed 13 games due to injury or healthy scratch, but he missed 12 games in 2009-10, and 10 last year and still bested these potential numbers.

The question at the back of everyone's head is: Did Chuck Fletcher get taken, ala Cam Barker, or is this just a bump in the road?

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