"I'm excited to be here in Minnesota," Jost said Wednesday. "I know the city (St. Paul, Minnesota) a little bit and played just down the street in North Dakota there (at the University of North Dakota in 2016-17) and have a lot of friends and family out here and it's a great hockey city, it's great city in general. And I'm really excited just for the fresh start to get things going here."
Jost said he believes he'll be a good fit however the Wild choose to use him.
"I think the nice part of my game is I'm pretty versatile," he said. "I can play that defensive role. I also believe I can bring offense too, so ... whatever is going to help the team win, and moving forward here, I know we're going down the stretch in the playoffs here. It's an important part of the year and we want to throw together wins. So I could bring that PK, I can play on the power play. ... So whatever the coaching staff wants me to do, that's what I'll do."
Sturm, a forward, is in the final season of a two-year $1.45 million contract ($725,000 average annual value) he signed with the Wild on Oct. 5, 2020, and can become a restricted free agent after this season.
The 26-year-old (6-foot-3, 209 pounds) has scored 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) in 53 games this season.
"Nico is a big, strong forward who also brings a heavy defensive presence," Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic said. "He is a defensive-minded center who can chip in offensively, is good on draws and can contribute on the penalty kill,"
Signed by the Wild as a free agent April 1, 2019, Sturm has scored 36 points (20 goals, 16 assists) in 111 regular-season games and three points (two goals, one assist) in nine playoff games.
"I think it's a win-win because I think both players were in need of a change," Guerin said. "Nico gave us a couple of great years. I think he was one of the better college free agent signings in the last few years. And we wish him nothing but the best, and he's going to a good situation and we're very excited to have Tyson. We think there's a lot more potential for Tyson to grow and become the player that he wants to be."
The trade comes one day after the Avalanche acquired defenseman Josh Manson in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks on Monday for defenseman prospect Drew Helleson and a second-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Colorado (42-13-5) is first in the NHL standings and plays at the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday (10:30 p.m. ET; BSW, ALT, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
Minnesota (34-20-4), which is third in the Central Division, is 4-9-1 in its past 14 games. The Wild host the Boston Bruins on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; TNT, NHL LIVE).
"Could we do one or two more moves? Sure," Guerin said. "But we'll see where that goes. This just worked today. This was a good deal for both teams that happened today. We'll take the rest in stride."
NHL.com independent correspondent Jessi Pierce contributed to this report
