"Chuck Fletcher's the type of guy to give a player a new lease on life if he's unable to get in the lineup, but it might be tough for the Wild general manager to trade rarely used Mike Lundin before the Feb. 27 trade deadline.

Defenseman Clayton Stoner was placed on injured reserve Thursday because of a leg injury, so trading Lundin could deplete the Wild's blue-line depth. Greg Zanon is also trade bait as a potential free agent, and Marek Zidlicky has indicated he would consider waiving his no-trade clause.

"You trade a D, now you might be down to six guys not counting Marco," Fletcher said, referring to Houston's Marco Scandella. "At this point, we've got to do what's best for the team. We don't want to do anything that takes away our ability to make the playoffs.

"What's the point of shooting for a small future consideration to move an NHL player when you may need that NHL player? Believe me, we all want picks and prospects, but we may need that NHL player more."

Lundin has been scratched in 16 of the past 20 games.

"It's been real tough on him," coach Mike Yeo said. "Obviously we brought him here for a reason, and it wasn't just to be a seventh defenseman and sit out every night."

Yeo said Lundin slipped on the depth chart when he missed the first 23 games because of a back injury."