Nick Foligno Traded to Wild, Joins Marcus for First Time

nick foligno got his first chance to share a team with Marcus after Minnesota sent him there on deadline day. The move ended his run in Chicago and put him back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where he had not played since 2023.

Foligno and Marcus

The trade created a family first at any level. Jeff Blashill called it “an unbelievable thing” to be part of something with your brother, and said, “That means a ton to him and his family.”

Foligno had spent his time in Chicago in a mentor role rather than a straight playoff chase, and Kyle Davidson said, “It’s bittersweet to see him go.” Connor Bedard described him as someone who puts others first, saying, “He’s someone that’s more happy for everyone else than he is himself,” and added, “He’s someone who exemplifies that.”

Wild First-Round Run

Foligno brought that same presence to Minnesota’s first-round series against Dallas. He was physical, hard on pucks and made life difficult for the Stars’ top players, with his most visible work coming in game six, the clinching win that sent the Wild into the second round.

That game fit the role Minnesota wanted from him. He laid the body more than once in the series clincher and helped set a tone that Blashill praised after the trade, saying, “For me personally, he’s been awesome,” and, “He’s been awesome for the organization.”

Boston to Minnesota

The playoff return also reopened a door that had shut after 2023, when he last appeared in the postseason with Boston. That Bruins team set an NHL record with 65 regular-season wins before blowing a 3-1 lead to Florida in the first round.

Now the Wild move on to face the President’s Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche in the second round, with Foligno in the middle of a roster built to play through the grind. At 19 years into his NHL career, he has gone from Chicago’s veteran guide to Minnesota’s deadline addition, and this run gives him the chance to keep doing both jobs at once.