Michael McCarron was leading the Predators this season with 165 hits and has averaged over 52.8 percent on draws in all of his five NHL seasons. Steve Roberts / Imagn Images
March 3, 2026Updated 9:33 pm EST
One day after adding Robby Fabbri off waivers as they try to reshape their fourth line, the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday acquired 6-foot-6 center Michael McCarron from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2028 second-round pick, according to league sources.
McCarron, who turns 31 on Friday, is in the final year of a contract with a $900,000 average annual value. Wild coach John Hynes coached McCarron for parts of three seasons in Nashville.
The move is a clear indication that the Wild haven’t been pleased with Nico Sturm’s play. McCarron is a big body who plays a heavy game and has an edge, leading the Predators with 165 hits. He’s also good on draws, winning 53.8 percent of them over the past five seasons, and is a good penalty-killer. He’s amassed 275 penalty minutes in the past three seasons and is known to drop the gloves.
With Marcus Foligno week-to-week with a lower-body injury, McCarron will fill a physical role for the Wild, along with league hits leader Yakov Trenin.
“Faceoffs are one element of his game that we really like,” Wild president and general manager Bill Guerin said Tuesday. “Hynsie’s had him before, so there’s some comfort there with the coach and the player, which I think is good.
“A bigger body, heavier guy. But he gets around the ice. He’s a good penalty killer, and he’s very competitive, which is attractive. So there are a lot of elements to his game that we like.”
Before the Predators, McCarron played for the Montreal Canadiens from 2015 to 2018. He’s played in nine career playoff games — three with Montreal and six with Nashville.
He has five goals and 12 points this season and is averaging a career-high 14:30 of ice time per game.
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Michael Russo is a senior writer covering the Minnesota Wild and the National Hockey League for The Athletic. He has covered the NHL since 1995 (Florida Panthers) and the Wild since 2005, previously for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Minneapolis Star Tribune. Michael is a five-time Minnesota Sportswriter of the Year and in 2017 was named the inaugural Red Fisher Award winner as best beat writer in the NHL. Michael can be seen on NHL Network; and heard on KFAN (100.3 FM) and the Worst Seats in the House podcast (talknorth.com). He can be found on Instagram and X at @russohockey and Bluesky at @russohockey.bsky.social. Follow Michael on Twitter @RussoHockey
