- The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports that injured Minnesota Wild stars Kirill Kaprizov, Jonas Brodin, and Filip Gustavsson are all “getting extra work and contact now.” Russo notes that “how they respond will determine when they can play,” adding that there is a possibility for some to even play in the team’s game tomorrow against the Arizona Coyotes. Getting just one of those players back at the very least would be a massively positive development for a Wild team that looked really strong at the start of new coach John Hynes’ tenure only to fall back as injuries to key contributors built up.
Wild Rumors
Michael Milne Activated Off SOIR, Assigned To Iowa
- The Wild activated forward Michael Milne off season-opening IR and assigned him to AHL Iowa, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). The 21-year-old is in his second professional season after picking up 13 points in 57 AHL contests last year and after missing the first few months of the season due to injury, is expected to play this weekend. Milne was a third-round pick in 2022 (89th overall) after a breakout season offensively in the WHL that saw him put up 81 points in 68 games.
Minnesota Wild Reassign Jake Lucchini
With the news that forward Marcus Foligno has returned from his injury and is ready to play tonight as the Minnesota Wild host the Dallas Stars, the Wild have decided to send a forward down back to the AHL: Jake Lucchini.
Lucchini was a healthy scratch for the Wild’s most recent game, but now with Foligno returning it appears Nic Petan will take his spot in the team’s press box, pushing Lucchini back to the AHL’s Iowa Wild. The 28-year-old veteran of 261 AHL games last played in Iowa on December 20th, before receiving his first NHL game of the year just three days later.
The 28-year-old undrafted veteran broke out as an AHL scorer in 2021-22, potting 20 goals and 51 points for the Belleville Senators. He had an even better campaign in Belleville last year, and then the Wild committed a $300k AHL salary to Lucchini for 2023-24 in order to sign him, and he’s been a top scorer for the AHL Wild so far this year.
With 24 points in 24 games, Lucchini is among the Wild’s top AHL scorers, and with this reassignment, he’ll likely resume his role at or near the top of the team’s forward depth chart. Given the Wild’s tendency for injury this season, their significant lack of cap space, and Lucchini’s league-minimum $775k cap hit, it’s certainly possible we haven’t seen the last of Lucchini in the NHL this season.
Injury Updates: Wild, Sabres, Lehkonen
The Minnesota Wild have been dealing with an absolutely massive slate of injuries in their recent stretch of games, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the team. The Athletic’s Michael Russo reported today that the trio of core pillars for the Wild, Kirill Kaprizov, Filip Gustavsson, and Jared Spurgeon are all “progressing and skating,” and thereby in their “next phase” toward full returns to the ice.
Adding Kaprizov, Spurgeon, and Gustavsson back to their roster would give the Wild their number-one winger, number-one defenseman, and number-one goalie back. The team has been strong under new head coach John Hynes, but in order for them to truly have a chance of keeping up in the Central Division that trio of players will need to return to the ice sooner rather than later.
Some other injury updates from across the NHL:
- As reported by the Buffalo Times Herald’s Bill Hoppe, Buffalo Sabres wingers Victor Olofsson and Jordan Greenway are currently sick and out on a day-to-day timeline for the team. Olofsson was a healthy scratch for the team’s most recent game in favor of Eric Robinson, while Greenway skated on their third line alongside Zach Benson and Casey Mittelstadt. With captain Kyle Okposo now out week-to-week, the possibility both Greenway and Olofsson miss tomorrow’s game against the Seattle Kraken would mean the team could potentially need to recall a forward or two from the AHL’s Rochester Americans.
- Colorado Hockey Now’s Evan Rawal reports that forward Artturi Lehkonen is skating at Avalanche practice in a white jersey, meaning he has officially moved past the non-contact stage of his injury recovery. The 28-year-old Finnish winger had a breakout campaign last season when he scored at a 27-goal, 65-point 82-game pace and had scored eight points in 12 games this season before suffering his significant injury.
Minnesota Wild Call Up Jesper Wallstedt, Reassign Zane McIntyre
The Minnesota Wild have recalled high-end goaltending prospect Jesper Wallstedt, and reassigned Zane McIntyre to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, per a team release. With netminder Filip Gustavsson currently on the injured reserve and upcoming back-to-back games next weekend, it would be reasonable to assume that Wallstedt will end up making his NHL debut for the Wild.
Coming to Minnesota as the 20th overall selection of the 2021 NHL Draft, the native of Västerås, Sweden has shattered all expectations through his brief time in North America. Even during his last year in the SHL during the 2021-22 season, Wallstedt impressed greatly with a .918 SV% and 1.98 GAA in 22 games as a 19-year-old.
Making his way to Iowa last year, the excitement began growing around Wallstedt, as he produced an 18-15-5 record in his rookie campaign, carrying a .908 SV% and a 2.68 GAA. He has continued his upward momentum in this AHL season as well, currently holding an 11-9-0 record with a .917 SV% and 2.54 GAA. He currently ranks sixth in save percentage through all goalies in the AHL with a minimum of 15 games played.
Unfortunately for Wallstedt, this will likely only serve as a brief stay in the NHL, with Gustavsson only expected to miss a few weeks, and Marc-Andre Fleury currently serving as the team’s primary starter. However, with 11 games in 20 days upcoming for the Wild, Wallstedt will have plenty of opportunity to prove his worth at the NHL level.
With Gustavsson signed until the 2025-26 season, and Fleury’s status beyond this year up in the air, Wallstedt will more than likely be the primary backup option for the Wild as soon as next season. If he continues to play how he has in both the SHL and the AHL, Minnesota could become one of the few teams across the league to have their long-term solution in the crease.
For McIntyre, he was originally brought up via an emergency loan on December 31st in correspondence with Gustavsson’s injury. In the three games that he has been available for, Fleury has started in all of them, with McIntyre failing to get any minutes throughout his time up in the NHL. He will now return to Iowa where he has a .884 SV% through 12 games this season.
Michael Russo of The Athletic was the first to report the Wild would be recalling Wallstedt.
Minnesota Wild Activate Mats Zuccarello From Injured Reserve
As alluded to yesterday in recent reports, the Minnesota Wild have officially activated forward Mats Zuccarello off of injured reserve, per a team announcement. Having been injured since December 16th, Zuccarello will likely be in the lineup tomorrow night as the Wild take on the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Before the announcement, Zuccarello was one of five players currently on the injured reserve for Minnesota, with top players such as Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon sidelined as well. Even beyond the regular injured reserve, defenseman Jonas Brodin currently finds himself on long-term injured reserve, severely limiting the Wild’s depth over the last couple of weeks.
Specifically with Zuccarello sidelined with an upper-body injury, Minnesota has produced a 4-5-0 record in his absence, with four of those losses coming in their last four games. As the defense and goaltending have held up their end of things, the Wild’s offense has certainly struggled over this stretch, averaging less than three goals a game without Zuccarello.
Even though Zuccarello is largely seen as a complimentary piece next to Kaprizov, he may be tasked with being the focal point of the offense moving forward over the next few games. Impressively, he still sits second on the team in scoring with six goals and 28 points in 28 games, continuing to maintain an elite ability to pass the puck in his age-36 season.
Minnesota still has a difficult path ahead toward a healthy roster, but the addition of Zuccarello back into the lineup should help the team to be more competitive. Luckily for the team, the wild card race in the Western Conference is still relatively tight, as the Wild currently sit five points back of the Seattle Kraken for the final spot, with two games in hand.
Minnesota Wild Reassign Sammy Walker, Recall Adam Raška
The Minnesota Wild have reassigned forward Sammy Walker to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild. In a corresponding move, they have recalled forward Adam Raška to fill his spot on their NHL roster.
Walker featured in the Wild’s game yesterday, but after the team lost a difficult 4-1 decision the Wild have opted to swap fourth-line wingers. Walker played alongside Jake Lucchini and Connor Dewar, but the line did not have a great game.
In four NHL games this season, Walker has not yet registered a point and has a minus-three rating. He’s been solid in the AHL though with 19 points in 28 games for the Iowa Wild. The former University of Minnesota star has been like that ever since beginning his pro career in 2022-23: a strong AHL performer who struggles to make the same kind of impact against NHL competition.
Replacing him on the roster is Raška, a 22-year-old former depth forward in the San Jose Sharks organization. He’s played in eight career NHL games and doesn’t yet have his first NHL point. The five-foot-ten Czech forward has struggled to put together offense at the AHL level, with a career high of 14 points there.
But despite his size he does play a relentless, physical game and already has 61 penalty minutes in 20 games this season. Seeing as Minnesota’s fourth line already has some offensively-oriented players in Lucchini and Dewar, swapping out Walker for Raška gives the Wild a touch of physicality and aggression on that trio.
Wild Prospect Jesper Wallstedtis Set To Return From Injury
- Joe Smith of The Athletic is reporting that Minnesota Wild goalie prospect Jesper Wallstedtis is expected to return tomorrow night for their AHL affiliate in Iowa and could factor into the NHL roster over the next week. The 20th overall pick in 2021 has been dealing with a lower-body injury and could make his NHL debut if he is recalled by the Wild to fill in while Filip Gustavsson is on IR. The 21-year-old has put up terrific numbers in the AHL this season, registering an 11-7 record with a .922 save percentage and a 2.43 goals-against average in 18 games.
Latest Wild Injury Updates
- Minnesota Wild forward Mats Zuccarello continues to skate as he pursues a return to the ice, and The Athletic’s Joe Smith reports that Zuccarello could return before the Wild make their trip to Tampa to play the Lightning in the middle of January. Zuccarello has been out since December 16th and has 28 points in 28 games this season.
- Marcus Foligno was classified as a game-time decision for the Wild’s January 2nd contest due to a lingering undisclosed injury, but now The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports that he’s considered out on a day-to-day timeline. Foligno, 32, is a respected defensive forward and the Wild benefit when he’s on the ice rather than off it, especially considering his $3.1MM cap hit is even more meaningful due to the Wild’s existing cap constraints.
Guerin: Wild Won't Make Trades To Replace Injured Players
- Don’t expect the Wild to make any trades to fill out their injury-ravaged roster, GM Bill Guerin says. Speaking with The Athletic’s Michael Russo, Guerin says the Wild won’t have the salary cap flexibility to keep any acquired players on the roster after defenseman Jonas Brodin, whose $6MM cap hit is on long-term injured reserve and is providing necessary temporary cap relief, is ready to return to the lineup. Brodin remains listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury and is close to becoming eligible to come off LTIR. Aside from Brodin, six other Wild regulars are out of the lineup thanks to injuries, including captain Jared Spurgeon and their two highest-scoring forwards, Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello.