Wild acquire McCarron from Predators for 2nd-round pick

The Minnesota Wild beefed up their bottom-six forward group Tuesday, landing center Michael McCarron from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2028 second-round pick, the teams announced.

The 6-foot-6, 232-pound McCarron has five goals and seven assists in 59 games this campaign, but he's strong defensively and extremely physical. He's posted 2.8 defensive goals above replacement this season, per Evolving-Hockey, and paced the Predators with 165 hits prior to the trade. A right-handed shot, he's also won 52.8% of his faceoffs.

The 30-year-old has averaged a career-high 14:30 per game in 2025-26. He projects to center Minnesota's fourth line and play a crucial role on its 23rd-ranked penalty kill. His 144 shorthanded minutes are the seventh most among NHL forwards this season.

McCarron carries a $900,000 cap hit and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

The Predators now have five second-round picks over the next three drafts. They have several other pending UFAs who could get moved prior to Friday's deadline, including forwards Michael Bunting, Erik Haula, and Cole Smith.