Morning Notes: Gritsyuk, Jiříček, Front Office App
Devils prospect Arseni Gritsyuk is on an expiring deal with SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League. His contract remains in effect through May 31, however, and James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now reports the team’s efforts to get him over to North America before that date appear futile. SKA remains intent on keeping Gritsyuk through the end of his deal despite general manager Tom Fitzgerald‘s post-deadline statement that they wanted to get him over to New Jersey down the stretch to “show us what he can do.” The No. 3 prospect in the Devils’ system (per McKeen’s Hockey), the 24-year-old right winger has 17-26–43 in 48 games with SKA, on pace for a career-high if not for a knee injury that cost him a decent chunk of the campaign. A 2019 fifth-round pick, he has 68-83–151 in 215 career KHL games across five seasons.
Other items from around the NHL today:
- Wild prospect David Jiříček has now been scratched nine straight games since being recalled from AHL Iowa on March 1. The 21-year-old told The Athletic’s Joe Smith this week that while he’s eager to get back into game action, he’s enjoying having development time in NHL practices compared to skating for AHL Iowa, which has a sparse schedule this month. “I skated with [Jonas Brodin] and had some practices with [Marc-André Fleury]. For me, that’s always like a dream, you know? He’s a Hall of Famer. To shoot on him, it’s always a blessing. It’s actually a pretty good situation for me.” Selected sixth overall by the Blue Jackets in 2022 and acquired by the Wild in November, the righty has a goal and an assist while averaging 13:02 in six NHL appearances for Minnesota since the swap.
- The NHL has finally created an app comparable to sites like PuckPedia, CapWages, and the now-defunct CapFriendly – but they’re keeping it in-house. Stephen Whyno of the AP reports the league has launched an iPad app, developed by SAP, for use only by teams’ front offices that “modernizes the league’s roster, contract and salary cap information.” Instead of having to coalesce with the league’s Central Registry and keep track of official contract information on a team-by-team basis, NHL GMs will now have private access to every team’s active roster size, salary cap room, injured reserve statuses, and no-move and no-trade clauses in players’ contracts.
Wild Recall Liam Ohgren Under Emergency Conditions
The Minnesota Wild have recalled top wing prospect Liam Ohgren under emergency conditions. The move comes after an unnamed member of the Wild fell sick, per Michael Russo of The Athletic. Forward Marcus Foligno is also facing a day-to-day absence and sat out of Monday’s game. Ohgren will be eligible to play should both Foligno and the ill Wild player both need to sit out. The Wild’s next game comes against Seattle on Wednesday.
This move returns Ohgren to the NHL roster after 11 days, and four games, in the minor leagues. He didn’t manage any scoring in his first two games back in the minors, but amassed two goals and five points in a pair of games this weekend. That scoring brought Ohgren up to 28 points, split evenly, in 29 AHL games this season. He is the only Iowa Wild skater still rivaling point-per-game scoring, and ranks sixth on the team in total points despite playing fewer games than Iowa forward with more than 10 points.
Despite hot scoring in the minors, Ohgren still hasn’t found his groove at the NHL level. He has just four points in 23 games with Minnesota this season, adding to his two points in four NHL games last year. The Wild have moved Ohgren around the bottom-six to try and spark his scoring, though he’s averaged just 11:06 in ice time through the full season.
This call-up will give Ohgren another chance to spark his NHL scoring after a hot weekend in the minor leagues. He’ll need specific circumstances to prompt a return to the Minnesota lineup, including another absence for lineup fixture Foligno – who’s scored 22 points in 67 games from a third-line role this season. Ohgren will likely absorb most of Foligno’s minutes, should he get to play.
Upper-Body Injury For Foligno
- The Wild announced (Twitter link) that winger Marcus Foligno was scratched from tonight’s game against Los Angeles due to an upper-body injury. The 33-year-old leads Minnesota in hits with 219 through 67 games this season but his offensive production has been limited once again as he has just 11 goals and 11 assists while logging a little over 14 minutes a night. There’s no word yet on how long Foligno might be out for.
Wild Welcome Jonas Brodin Back To Practice After Injury
- Top-pair Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin also returned to practice on Monday per Joe Smith of The Athletic. Smith adds that head coach John Hynes dubbed Brodin as day-to-day and out for Monday night’s game. The top shutdown defender has missed Minnesota’s last seven games with a lower-body injury, pulling him deeper into the well of absences this year. He’s now played in just 38 of the Wild’s 67 games on the year. Those routine absences have held Brodin to just 18 points on the season. That mark stands as the highest points-per-game average of Brodin’s career (.474), just narrowly beating out his previous career high set when he scored 27 points in 62 games last season (.435). But without a clean bill of health, Brodin hasn’t had a chance to relish in a newfound scoring gear. For yet another time this season, he’ll now be tasked with getting back to full speed so he can support Minnesota’s top defense pair with a tough streak coming up.
Jonas Brodin Continues To Practice
- In other injury news, Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin has skated three straight days as he seeks to return from a lower-body injury, per Michael Russo of The Athletic. The veteran of 841 career games, Brodin had been a key contributor for the Wild, aided by his plus-10 rating and 22:42 of ice time per game. Brodin, 31, left the Wild’s game against the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 28 and GM Bill Guerin announced soon after that Brodin would be sidelined on a week-to-week basis. The injury was believed to be caused by a shot block. Regardless of the cause, Brodin’s return to the lineup will no doubt support Minnesota’s efforts in solidifying their position in the playoff seedings. The team currently finds themselves in the first wildcard spot in the west, but has sputtered to a 4-5-1 record over their last 10 contests.
- The Stars are also getting a few key players back in the fold, as left winger Roope Hintz (face) and defender Lian Bichsel (illness) skated with the team today, per Stars reporter Mike Heika. The return of Hintz is an obvious boost to the lineup, as the 28-year-old is on his way to his fourth-straight 30-plus goal season. Hintz was injured when he took a puck to the face during a contest against the Oilers on March 8. In 59 contests this season, Hintz has 25 goals, 26 assists, and 51 points. Bichsel missed the Stars’ Friday night matchup against the Wild due to illness and was replaced in the lineup by veteran Brendan Smith. The 20-year-old Bichsel has looked the part of an NHL-ready player, posting five points and a plus-6 rating in his first 22 career contests. Bichsel was the organization’s first-round selection in the 2021 draft (18th overall). It remains to be seen if Hintz and/or Bichsel will be available for tomorrow’s matchup against the Ducks.
Maple Leafs Acquire Reese Johnson
It turns out all of the trades of the day weren’t in after all. The Maple Leafs have made a move to add a bit more forward depth, acquiring forward Reese Johnson from the Wild in exchange for future considerations. Both teams have confirmed the swap.
The 26-year-old has spent the majority of the season in the minors with AHL Iowa, collecting four goals and nine assists in 49 games. He also got into three games with Minnesota back in December but was held off the scoresheet in 9:32 of playing time per contest.
While Johnson hasn’t seen much action at the top level this season, he does have 144 career appearances under his belt. He got into 141 games with Chicago over the last four seasons, primarily playing on their fourth line. With them, he had seven goals, ten assists, and 450 hits while winning 51.7% of his faceoffs but the Blackhawks declined to tender him a qualifying offer last summer, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Johnson is playing on a one-year, two-way contract worth $775K in the NHL and $500K in the minors and will be RFA-eligible this summer with salary arbitration eligibility. Given his NHL experience, it’s unlikely he’d be tendered that offer as that would play a role in his awarded salary which would likely push him past the $1MM mark despite spending most of this year in the AHL.
As a result of their moves today, the Maple Leafs placed winger Max Pacioretty on LTIR and even with that, they only have $195K in cap room, per PuckPedia. Accordingly, Johnson will be ticketed to play with the AHL Marlies for the foreseeable future.
Wild Acquire Justin Brazeau
According to ESPN’s Kevin Weekes, the Minnesota Wild are acquiring winger Justin Brazeau from the Boston Bruins in exchange for forwards Marat Khusnutdinov and Jakub Lauko and a 2026 sixth-round draft pick. Minnesota has made the deal official.
With Boston shifting into a seller’s mindset over the last week, Brazeau became an obvious trade chip. The New Liskeard, Ontario native was in the final year of a two-year, $1.55MM contract and was one of the few pending unrestricted free agents of value on the Bruins’ roster.
Brazeau is in his first full NHL season after splitting last year between the Boston and Providence Bruins. He has 20 points, split evenly, in 57 games this season and ranks seventh on the team with 89 hits. Minnesota was drawn to Brazeau’s lofty six-foot-six, 227-pound frame – and his right-hand shot – shares Michael Russo of The Athletic.
Brazeau’s pro career began on an ECHL contract with the Newfoundland Growlers in the 2019-20 season. He broke into the pros with 55 points in 57 games, enough to earn a mid-season call-up to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies and an everyday role with the squad in the following year. Brazeau’s AHL start was slow-going in the shortened 2020-21 season, backed by just five points in his first 22 AHL games. The Marlies opted to move on from Brazeau in the following summer, setting him up for a move to the Bruins organization. On the back of cold scoring, he returned to the ECHL for the start of the 2021-22 campaign. But Brazeau quickly earned another call-up after netting 20 points in 18 games. He didn’t let his second chance slip, netting 31 points in 51 games in his first season in Providence. He doubled down with 45 points in 67 games of the 2022-23 campaign, and 37 points in 49 AHL games last year – hot enough scoring to earn the lumbering winger his first NHL call-up.
The Bruins have kept Brazeau on the NHL roster since his first recall in February of 2024. He’s totaled 15 goals and 27 points in 76 career NHL games – and seems to be finding better footing as a third-line role specialist this year. He’ll bring a strong net-front presence to a Wild roster that only has one player – fringe defenseman David Jiricek – taller than six-foot-three.
In exchange for Brazeau, the Wild give up a pair of depth forwards. Lauko has served as one of
the team’s top physical presences when he’s healthy, though routine games have come few and far between. Lauko has six points, 27 penalty minutes, and a minus-five in 38 games this season, while tying for fourth on the team with 69 hits. He’s missed 24 games with various lower-body injuries, including a dismal stretch at the end of 2024 where Lauko missed two weeks with one injury, made his return, then got reinjured in his first game back and missed an additional month. He returned briefly before landing back on injured reserve for 20 days of February.
Lauko was in his first season with the Wild after spending the last two years – the first two seasons of his NHL career – with the Bruins. He’ll return to Boston looking to spur his never-ending string of bad health.
Khusnutdinov will join Lauko in the move out East. The 22-year-old has played in 73 games as Minnesota’s fourth-line center over the last two seasons but managed only three goals and 11 points. Khusnutdinov was far more productive over a four-year career in Russia’s KHL, where he suited up for SKA St. Petersburg and their farm club, HC Sochi. Khusnutdinov totaled 22 goals and 75 points across 162 KHL games before he even turned 21. That includes a single-season high of 11 goals and 41 points in 63 games of the 2022-23 season. He moved to Minnesota after Sochi’s 2023-24 campaign came to an end, and has so far struggled to find his footing in North American pros. He’ll slot in as a young and capable depth centerman for a needy Bruins club – and boasts an interesting amount of upside given his secondary inclusion in this deal. How Boston taps into that upside could go a long way towards tailoring their long-term plan, while Brazeau brings a towering addition to a Wild club looking for short-term success.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Wild Notes: Brodin, Bogosian, Deadline Plans
Another day, another longer-term injury for the Minnesota Wild. NHL.com writer Jessi Pierce shared that defenseman Jonas Brodin is expected to miss the next few weeks with a lower-body injury. One can reasonably assume that Brodin will be placed on the injured reserve relatively soon, but Minnesota didn’t announce any such roster move, despite confirming the news.
The 13-year veteran for the Wild exited the team’s recent game against the Colorado Avalanche after playing in only 15:47 of action. He earned a -2 rating while blocking four shots and putting one on the net. As one of the better defensive-minded players on the roster, Brodin’s exit from Minnesota’s lineup won’t help the team improve upon the 3.75 GA/G average they sustained throughout February.
Brodin, who’s dealt with multiple injuries the last few years, joins forwards Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov as Wild players out with longer-term injuries. Thankfully, there is some positive news on the injury front. Pierce also mentioned defenseman Zach Bogosian will return today from his minor lower-body injury. The former third-overall pick of the 2008 NHL Draft missed Minnesota’s intra-divisional matchup on Friday against the Avalanche.
Although this is a perfect time to replace injured players in the NHL calendar, the Wild aren’t expected to do much else. Pierce later shared that Minnesota is expecting back Brodin, Eriksson Ek, and Kaprizov before the regular season’s conclusion, which will have some financial limitations.
The Wild made one addition yesterday by acquiring Gustav Nyquist (50% retained) from the Nashville Predators for a 2026 second-round pick. Still, they later had to reassign forwards Marat Khusnutdinov and Liam Ohgren to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, to make the money work.
Because of the salary cap burden, general manager Bill Guerin shared with The Athletic’s Michael Russo that any further trade before Friday’s deadline must be “penny in, penny out.” Normally, Bogosian’s, Jonathon Merrill‘s, or Declan Chisholm‘s contracts would be reasonable trade fodder in a money-in, money-out deal. Unfortunately, the numerous injuries on Minnesota’s blue line should preclude them from moving out additional depth. The quote from Guerin likely means the Wild are done making moves for the deadline season.
Wild Recall David Jiricek, Reassign Two
The Minnesota Wild have recalled defenseman David Jiricek and reassigned forwards Marat Khusnutdinov and Liam Ohgren. The moves clear space for winger Gustav Nyquist, who Minnesota acquired from the Nashville Predators for a second-round pick on Saturday morning.
Jiricek’s recall comes after news that both Zach Bogosian and Jonas Brodin are banged up. Bogosian sat out of Minnesota’s Friday game with a lower-body injury, per NHL.com’s Joe Smith. Brodin played just 15:47 of the outing, and his availability remains up in the air per Michael Russo of The Athletic.
Jiricek will be the beneficiary of any open minutes, after he recorded his first point in seven AHL games on Friday. He’s struggled to find a consistent rut in the Wild organization, with two points in six NHL games and six points in 26 AHL games. The Wild acquired Jiricek from the Columbus Blue Jackets on November 30th, sending Daemon Hunt and three draft picks the other way. Jiricek is in his third season in North America, and his cold scoring has dragged through every year. He has 66 points in 114 career AHL games, and 13 points in 59 NHL games.
The Wild’s swap of forwards in this mix might not sway their scoring a ton. Ohgren and Khusnutdinov have combined for just four points across their last 10 games. Ohgren has often served as Minnesota’s extra forward, with just four points in 23 games this season. Khusnutdinov has served a hardier role as the fourth-line center, but has just seven points in 57 games. Nyquist has confidently outscored both youngster in his time with Nashville – netting 21 points in 57 games – but he’s managed just one assist in his last 10 NHL games.
Nyquist had a stint with the Wild during the 2022-23 season as well. He scored five points in three games on that stint, but an upper-body injury kept him from stepping into the lineup more before hitting unrestricted free agency. With these moves, Minnesota has carved out the lineup spot needed to give Nyquist a truer look this time around.
Wild Acquire Gustav Nyquist From Predators
After being scratched earlier in the day for trade-related reasons, it felt like only a matter of time before the Predators traded winger Gustav Nyquist. That move has now happened as they have dealt him to the Wild in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick. Both sides have announced the swap. As part of the move, Nashville is retaining half of his $3.185MM cap hit. To make room on the roster, Minnesota has assigned Liam Ohgren to AHL Iowa, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link).
It’s the second time that Minnesota has acquired Nyquist in a move before the trade deadline after they picked him up from Columbus back in 2023 but at that time, the acquisition cost was only a fifth-round selection. Meanwhile, it’s actually the third time that the 35-year-old has been a near-deadline pickup as back in 2019, Detroit moved him to San Jose for a pair of draft choices.
Nyquist signed a two-year deal with the Preds back in 2023 on the heels of a solid playoff showing with Minnesota that saw him pick up five assists in six postseason appearances. Things couldn’t have gone much better for him last season as he wound up blowing past his previous career highs in assists and points, tallying 52 and 75 respectively in 81 games. He followed that up with four points in their first-round exit to Vancouver in the playoffs.
With his 2023-24 performance and Nashville’s big spending spree over the summer, expectations were high for Nyquist heading into this season. However, as has been the case for a lot of the Predators’ players, he has underachieved. Through 57 games this season, he has just nine goals and 12 assists despite still logging 17:39 per game of ice time.
Minnesota finds itself in the bottom half of the league offensively with key injuries to players like Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek playing a part in that. Nyquist should have an opportunity to jump into a middle-six role and at least deepen the lineup while ideally being able to provide them with a boost in their secondary scoring. They’re paying a fairly high cost to get Nyquist at half price so they clearly expect that the change of scenery will help get him going again.
With the move, Nashville has now used its three salary retention slots with the others being on Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Johansen, whose grievance for his contract termination was held last week. If that termination is upheld by Friday, the Predators could get that third slot back but it seems unlikely a ruling will come that quickly. In the meantime, they now have eight picks in the first two rounds between the 2025 and 2026 drafts, positioning themselves well to add some young impactful talent to the cupboard relatively quickly.
Meanwhile, Minnesota now has roughly $6.6MM remaining in its LTIR pool, per PuckPedia (Twitter link). That’s with Kaprizov in LTIR and Eriksson Ek on regular injured reserve. Assuming both players return before the end of the season, the Wild will need to clear around $2.4MM in salary off their books to get back into cap compliance. Accordingly, unless they know one of their veterans won’t be back until the playoffs start, the Wild will be hard-pressed to make any other additions without clearing out some money either beforehand or as part of that trade.
Photo courtesy of Imagn Images.