Is It Time To Hit the Panic Button On Yakov Trenin? – Minnesota Wild

Below is a summary of Yakov Trenin’s season so far. The Russian winger has not lived up to the four-year, $14 million deal general manager Bill Guerin signed him to in the offseason. 

• 0 goals 
• 1 assist 
• 11 shots
• 31 hits
• 7.82 PK TOI  
• 12 games
• $3.5 million AVV

Trenin is not known for scoring points. He’s a physical forward who’s a defensive stalwart and can contribute to the penalty kill. Trenin has been sound defensively, but his foot speed and physicality have been lacking, and the Wild have gotten almost nothing from him offensively. 

He has the same amount of points as Filip Gustavsson: one. Gus has a goal, though. While that is an objectively funny stat, Trenin is not a guy who scores much. Throughout his six-year NHL career, he has a career with a .267 point percentage per game and 83 points in his 311 games. 

Trenin has been a consistent goal scorer in the NHL so far. He’s been fairly consistent, scoring at least 12 and no more than 17 goals in his first three full seasons. However, he scored 17 playing for John Hynes with the Nashville Predators. 

He may be taking some time to adjust to Hynes’s system. Theoretically, though, he should already be familiar with it. Trenin played under Hynes in his first three seasons with the Predators. The Wild signed him to play the same role he played in Nashville: a hard-nosed, forechecking penalty killer who can occasionally chip in some goals. 

Trenin has never scored more than 24 points in a season. Still, he’s on pace for a two. His only real saving grace is that he’s second on the team in hits behind Marcus Foligno. 

The big 6-foot-2, 200 lbs. forward has not been in the most favorable position to score, and his linemates have not produced either. Still, he’s been noticeably behind the play.

Foligno has been Trenin’s most common linemate. Freddy Gaudreau, Ryan Hartman, and occasionally Marat Khusnutdinov have centered their line.

Gaudreau and Hartman have played well. They have had bounce-back campaigns, but Foligno has three points in 12 games, which is better than Trenin – but only marginally. Foligno has been noticeable on the forecheck and in throwing big hits all over the ice. It’s hard to watch a Wild game and find an excellent play from Trenin, whether he has the puck or not. 

The Wild recently demoted Trenin to the fourth line with Khusnutdinov and fellow newcomer Jakub Lauko. Still, Trenin hasn’t been any more productive. The Wild called up AHL forward Mikey Milne, who could potentially fill in for Trenin on the fourth line during their three-game road trip. 

So, Trenin is likely on his way to the press box. Are there reasons for optimism about Trenin, or was this a bad contract? 

He’s had a slow start, and at this point, you’d like to see that $14 million elsewhere. Still, some stats can shed a positive light on an otherwise decrepit start for the former second-round pick. 

Trenin hasn’t put up numbers on the scoresheet, but he has been putting up some respectable expected goals numbers in his 12 games. Trenin’s 58.52 xGF% is third among Wild forwards, and his xGA/60 of 1.29 is second only to Gaudreau. Trenin has been solid in his own zone. While the plays have not yet turned into goals, there is reason for optimism to move forward. 

Trenin’s start has not been what anyone wanted. Still, a moment to step out of the lineup and reset gives him time to take a deep breath and get his offensive game right. 

All stats and data via HockeyDB, Evolving Hockey, Natural Stat Trick, and Cap Wages unless otherwise noted. 

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