The sleeping giant appears to have awakened. According to Minneapolis Star Tribune writer Mike Russo, the Minnesota Wild traded a third round pick to the Anaheim Ducks for defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron. The move comes after an extremely long lull in any news coming out of the Wild camp. The news, and the fact that Russo also reported he would “have more news later today,” has the comments on the story flying. Anything from hopeful, and somewhat delusional, discussions of Evgeni Malkin coming to the Wild, to more realistic talk of trading Pierre-Marc Bouchard for top tier defensive help. There is also a great deal of speculation about a Bouchard deal for Olli Jokinen.

Russo also reports that defenseman Eric Reitz has signed a one year, one-way deal with the club. Reitz was a call up during the playoffs after injuries to Kurtis Foster and Nick Schultz, and Lemaire lost all faith in Sean Hill, leaving the blue line short. The deal will mean Reitz will be with the big club for the 2008-09 season.

The past few weeks have been difficult for Wild fans and media alike. The biggest news coming since the end of the season is that Brian Rolston’s agent met with the team about the upcoming free agent’s future with the team. Other news from the past weeks includes Petteri Nummelin, Chris Simon, and Branko Radivojevic leaving the NHL for Europe, and coach Jacques Lemaire returning for his eighth season behind the bench.

With the silence, and a most likely deceptively inactive Wild organization, comes the quest for any information available. Other news being reported about the Wild includes mainly rumors, and about how the Wild will attempt to fill the holes and potential holes from free agency.

TSN’s Scott Cullen reports that the Wild are looking at landing a player on the caliber of Kristian Huselius, Brendan Morrison, or even Marian Hossa. He lists the needs of the Wild as “two top six forwards, depth forwards, one top four defenseman, two additional defensemen.” As stated in earlier articles, the addition of Hossa is unlikely, without assurances from Jacques Lemaire of a more offensive system. Signing Brian Rolston becomes an even greater priority with the described need for top six forwards. Brendan Morrison would add the depth forward needed, and fill a gap at center for the Wild. Huselius would fill the need for top six forwards, but the Flames would be hard pressed to lose him, and will make a strong effort to keep him in a Flames sweater.

The fact is, the Wild have lost Simon, Nummelin, and Radivojevic. While none of them are great losses, they do need to be replaced. The Wild most likely will also lose Pavol Demitra, Sean Hill, and Keith Carney. The defensive needs may not be as easy to meet through the free agent market as the loss of fourth line wings Simon and Radivojevic. The class of free agents is weak to mediocre, and the Wild are most likely not ready to spend a fortune to land the help they need. The Bouchard/Jokinen deal would help the Wild greatly, but the price may be too high for a future oriented franchise.

The move for Bergeron, and the signing of Reitz helps defensively. The debate has already started if Bergeron can be the top four d-man Cullen suggests, and Reitz will have a sharp learning curve if he wants to stay in the line-up.

While today’s moves help Minnesota solve the defensive puzzle, there are still more questions than answers. Negotiations with Rolston, Bouchard, and the rest of the free agent glut the Wild face need to be resolved. Things are heating up, and will only get hotter as the draft and July 1st approach.