Three years ago, the Minnesota Gophers went on a run that included a Big Ten Conference hockey title and their first trip to the NCAA Frozen Four under head coach Bob Motzko. But there were inevitable bumps along the way — most notably star goalie Jack LaFontaine’s abrupt decision in early January to sign a pro contract and leave the crease in the hands of untested and unknown Justen Close.

A day or two after LaFontaine cleared out his locker and headed out to what would eventually be 80 minutes in the NHL with the Carolina Hurricanes, the remaining Gophers players found these words written by Motzko and one of his assistants on the home locker room’s whiteboard:

“We have all that we need. And we need all that we have.”

In that vein, with the NHL trade deadline still a few days away, there is a quiet sense of confidence in the Minnesota Wild locker room that if this is what they have for the stretch run that they fully expect will return them to the playoffs, then what they have is enough, as long as everyone plays a role in team success.

On Saturday, Wild general manager Bill Guerin worked a trade with Nashville to add top-six forward Gustav Nyquist. A day later, Guerin admitted that with the team’s salary cap situation and the much-publicized dead money that is on their books for another few months, they’re out of wiggle room.

He’ll answer any general manager who calls, Guerin said, but any future trades between now and Friday afternoon might need to be of the rare one-for-one variety.

Nyquist played on the top line Sunday in a slump-busting 1-0 win over Boston that had the team in high spirits following the final horn. The Wild were again without injured forwards Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek, without injured defenseman Jonas Brodin and suspended forward Ryan Hartman, eligible to return for their game at Seattle on Tuesday.

But the feeling inside the locker room was that even if Nyquist is the only addition at the deadline, the team has all it needs.

“We’re gonna be fine. We’re gonna acquire Hartman for the next game, and then we got (Brodin) hopefully coming back with Ekky and Kirill, so our deadline looks fine,” a smiling Filip Gustavsson said after turning in his fourth shutout of the season. “(They’re) kind of like acquisitions. They haven’t played for a bit, so when they’re back, it’s gonna be good.”

Hartman is returning from an eight-game suspension following an altercation with Ottawa forward Tim Stuzle in early February. Initially a 10-game suspension, the NHL said it considers Hartman a repeat offender. Guerin said there is no more room for suspension-inducing behavior by the veteran.

“I expect his best behavior,” the GM said. “I think Hartsy will be excited to be back. We will be very happy to have Ryan back to the lineup. He’ll bring a lot of juice for the group. We all look forward to having him back.”

While Hartman has a time-definite return, the timetable for the other three remains a mystery — even to Guerin, who got a bit defiant when asked when he thought Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek and Brodin might be back on the line chart, or even when they might begin skating. And he reiterated a version of the message that was seen in the Gophers locker room a few years ago. Guerin believes the Wild have all that they need, and they need all that they have.

“When we play the way we are capable, when we do the right things, when we’re focused and execute well, then we can not just play with anybody, we can beat anybody,” he said. “So, I think it’s up to the guys in that locker room. They have a responsibility to be on task every night, to play the way that they’re capable of playing, and buy time for the guys to get back.”