Gaborik would qualify in my book as a trade that would help propel a team far into the playoffs and into the Stanley Cup Finals. He would be that final piece of the puzzle a team needed to reach the Stanley Cup.
A good example of that would be Pittsburgh last season acquiring Marian Hossa from the Atlanta Thrashers. He helped Pittsburgh reach the finals, but eventually lost to the Detroit Red Wings.
Gaborik would fit in with almost any NHL team, but his past playoff performances have put doubt in his ability to be effective in the playoffs.
In Minnesota's playoff run last year, Gaborik only posted one point in the entire series against Colorado after putting up record numbers in the regular season including a five goal game against the New York Rangers in January.
If a team is going to spend lots of money, they are going to want to see that he is healthy and can produce points not only in the regular season but also in the playoffs, and so far Gaborik has proved the opposite.
Minnesota needs Gaborik to get back on the ice quick for two reasons. One is to help an already injury-stacked lineup for Minnesota and to help provide some much needed offense that has cooled down since the start of the season. Second is that if Minnesota is looking to trade Gaborik, then the Wild are going to need him to be valuable before Minnesota can't do anything and possibly lose him to free agency come the season's end.
So don't look for Gaborik to go any sooner than before the trade deadline; it will be a shock if he goes any time sooner than that. If he continues to be injured I would expect Minnesota to not be able to trade him, and he will be a free agent at the end of this season.
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