Wild Assign Reese Johnson, Recall Brendan Gaunce
5:30 PM: The Minnesota Wild have recalled forward Brendan Gaunce, after placing Devin Shore on waivers, per Michael Russo of The Athletic. Gaunce would become the 31st player to suit up for the Wild, should he step into the lineup. He gets the call after scoring eight goals and 14 points in 21 games with the AHL’s Iowa Wild.
11:30 AM: The morning has started out with a heap of small-news roster transactions, headlined by the Minnesota Wild assigning center Reese Johnson to the Iowa Wild, per Michael Russo of The Athletic. Johnson stepped into Minnesota’s last two games to cover injuries to Yakov Trenin and Jakub Lauko. Trenin is expected to work his way back into the lineup before the team hosts Florida on Wednesday. That would alleviate some of the lineup pressure, though Russo points out that Minnesota will still need to recall a forward. He adds that the team could also place forwards Devin Shore or Ben Jones on waivers to create room for an additional call-up.
Johnson’s assignment gives Minnesota a chance to assess the playing field. They’ve had terrible luck with their extra forwards so far this season – with none of Johnson (three games), Shore (12 games), or Jones (13 games) recording any scoring in their opportunities this season. The lack of production has also extended to Michael Milne, Travis Boyd, and even top prospect Liam Ohgren – making the question of who to call up a tough one to answer.
Minnesota will need someone to step up for Lauko, who will be forced to miss at least the next two games with his placement on injured reserve. The top of their call-up sheet seems covered by this list of scoreless forwards, but Minnesota may opt for a new face instead. If that’s the case, it’d likely be Brendan Gaunce, Hunter Haight, and Luke Toporowski vying for NHL ice time. Gaunce (14 points in 21 games) and Haight (12 points in 23 games) rank near the top of the Iowa Wild in scoring, while Toporowski (nine points in 11 games) ranks fourth on the team in point-per-game scoring. Haight and Toporowski are still awaiting their NHL debuts.
Minnesota is 7-3-0 in their last 10 games, but have been outscored 14-4 in their losses. Scoring depth down the lineup would certainly support Minnesota’s game-to-game consistency – but which forward will bring that scoring continues to be an open question.
Filip Gustavsson Dealing With Lower-Body Issue
The Vancouver Canucks announced today that they’ve assigned forward Aatu Räty to the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League. The 22-year-old was recalled on Saturday before the Canucks game against the Bruins but didn’t end up dressing and served as a healthy scratch.
The former second-round pick has spent considerable time in the NHL this season, dressing in 20 games and picking up two goals and two assists. His AHL campaign has been limited, playing just eight games with Abbotsford, but Räty has been very productive posting four goals and three assists.
In other Western Conference notes:
- Chicago Blackhawks forward Nick Foligno was sick today and didn’t dress today in Chicago’s 5-3 win over the New York Islanders (as per Mario Tirabassi of CHGO Sports). The 37-year-old had points in each of his previous two games and is having a decent offensive season with seven goals and six assists in 30 games. He was replaced today by Joey Anderson who went scoreless in 13:27 of ice time.
- Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic tweeted that St. Louis Blues forward Radek Faksa missed his third consecutive game tonight due to a cut on his leg. The 30-year-old suffered the injury in a game against Vancouver and is making progress towards a return. Veteran Brandon Saad replaced Faksa in the lineup. Faksa is in his first season with the Blues after spending the first nine years of his NHL career with the Dallas Stars.
- Michael Russo of The Athletic writes that Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson is dealing with some soreness in his lower body and was getting looked at today. The ailment is reportedly nothing major, but it was enough to prompt the Wild to take a longer look at the issue. The 26-year-old is having a terrific bounce-back season with a 14-5-3 record along with a. 2.24 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage. Gustavsson took warmups last night and did serve as the backup, but the issue prompted the team to act today as well as call up top prospect Jesper Wallstedt.
Wild Place Jakub Lauko On IR, Recall Jesper Wallstedt
The Minnesota Wild have placed forward Jakub Lauko on injured reserve just a few hours after he left the team’s Saturday game against Philadelphia with a lower-body injury. Lauko played three minutes in the win. He’ll now have to miss at least seven days of action, making next Saturday’s matchup against Winnipeg his next chance to step into the lineup. In a corresponding, and surprising, move Minnesota has utilized an emergency recall on goaltender Jesper Wallstedt, suggesting some sort of injury to Filip Gustavsson. Gustavsson backed up Marc-Andre Fleury on Saturday. There’s been no indication of what he may be dealing with.
This news adds to a mounting list of injuries in Minnesota. Winger Mats Zuccarello and defender Jonas Brodin each returned from injury on Saturday – but the team is still without Joel Eriksson Ek, Jacob Middleton, and Yakov Trenin. The former two are both on IR, while the latter was ruled out of Saturday’s game just hours before it started due to an upper-body injury. Luckily, Trenin is only listed as questionable for the team’s Sunday game against Vegas per Michael Russo of The Athletic.
Even Lauko has faced an injury bug, returning on Tuesday from a previous lower-body injury that held him out of six games. It’s unclear if the two injuries are connected, but he’ll return to IR for the second time this season. The routine absences have made it hard for Lauko to find his footing in a new setting after a draft-day trade sent him to Minnesota for Vinni Lettieri and a swap of fourth-round picks. Lauko has recorded four points and a -6 in his first 23 games with the Wild – though he has found ground as a bruiser, ranking third on the team with 46 hits. Lauko is in his third NHL season, spending the previous two in Boston, where he combined for 17 points and 220 hits in 83 games.
The Wild deployed Reese Johnson in Trenin’s role on Saturday. Assuming Trenin returns soon, Johnson could slide over to fill Lauko’s role. Minnesota is also carrying Liam Ohgren and Devin Shore. Neither has scored at in the NHL this season – Ohgren in eight games and Shore in 11 – but they’re both top scorers in the minors. Ohgren has scored 11 points in 12 games for the AHL’s Iowa Wild, while Shore has 10 points in 14 games. Trying to get the monkey off either player’s back at the NHL level could be a good use of time, especially given Ohgren’s case for being Minnesota’s top prospect.
If not Ohgren, the top prospect title would likely go to Wallstedt, even amidst a struggling year. Wallstedt has a 5-6-1 record and .874 save percentage in 12 AHL games this season, including five games of allowing five-or-more goals. This recall could be the balancing piece, though his chance at seeing ice time will largely hinge on the severity of Gustavsson’s injury. Wallstedt played in his first three NHL games last season, setting a 2-1-0 record and .897 save percentage. He’s been the AHL starter since 2022-23, recording a much more encouraging 45-40-10 record and .905 Sv% in 95 games.
Wild Activate Mats Zuccarello And Jonas Brodin
While the Wild lost a key blueliner to LTIR on Friday, there is some good news on the injury front for them. Michael Russo of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that winger Mats Zuccarello has been activated off LTIR while defenseman Jonas Brodin has been activated off IR. Both players are expected to return today versus Philadelphia.
Zuccarello has missed the last month due to a lower-body injury, stalling what had been a strong start to his season. Prior to the injury, the 37-year-old had eight goals and six assists in 17 games while logging over 17 minutes of playing time. That performance came on the heels of putting up 63 points in 69 games last season, showing he’s still quite capable of playing in the top six.
While Minnesota is among the top teams in the league in the standings, their offense enters play today ranked 14th in the NHL, just above the middle of the pack. Accordingly, getting a key producer like Zuccarello back should be a considerable boost to their attack.
As for Brodin, he has missed a little more than two weeks due to an upper-body injury. The 31-year-old got off to a decent start offensively with eight points in 18 appearances while once again being a key shot-blocker, still sitting second on the Wild with 45 despite missing 11 games. Brodin is one of their defensive anchors on the penalty kill as well; his 2:15 SH TOI per game leads the team.
The Wild only had one open roster spot before activating Zuccarello and Brodin. While not yet announced by the team, defenseman Cameron Crotty has been returned to AHL Iowa; he was recalled on Monday but didn’t suit up with Minnesota.
Middleton’s Injury May Affect Minnesota’s Deadline Plans
It’s been a surprising year for the Minnesota Wild. After missing the playoffs last year, they’ve accrued the second-most points in the Western Conference up to this point in the regular season.
They’re still cap-strapped, too, thanks to the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, with the team still owing the pair a combined $14.7MM this season. The Wild needed to stay diligent in their efforts to accrue up cap space throughout the regular season to eventually add a substantive complementary piece at the trade deadline.
Minnesota has unfortunately hit a few roadblocks in the form of injuries. The team already had to place forward Mats Zuccarello on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury earlier in the season and placed underrated defenseman Jacob Middleton on it yesterday.
In an interview with Michael Russo of The Athletic (Subscription Article), general manager Bill Guerin explains that the latest LTIR placement may affect the team’s chances of acquiring a top-six forward at this year’s deadline. Russo quoted Guerin saying, “Yeah, I mean, it probably will. And again, that’s just one of those things. We can’t control it. We’ve been doing our best to build up cap space as we go along. But things happen and we can’t necessarily control it all the time. We’ll see what we can do though. That’s a couple months away. So we’ll see.”
According to PuckPedia, the Wild should have a projected deadline cap space of $5.4MM, barely enough to acquire the top-six winger they’ve needed for much of the season. The available cap space will shrink should Middelton’s injury keep him on LTIR longer than expected.
To their credit, Minnesota has blown past their expectations this season while dealing with numerous injuries. Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin, and Joel Eriksson Ek have each missed considerable time with injury this season but the Wild have still found success without deploying a full roster for much of the year.
Wild Claim Travis Dermott, Place Jacob Middleton On LTIR
The Wild have claimed defenseman Travis Dermott off waivers from the Oilers, per Michael Russo of The Athletic. Defender Jacob Middleton, who sustained a hand injury in last night’s 7-1 loss to the Oilers, landed on long-term injured reserve minutes earlier in a corresponding move, per the team.
It’s no surprise to see Minnesota’s desire to add some defensive depth to the organization, particularly a lefty. They’re now without their top two left-shot options in Middleton and Jonas Brodin (upper body, week-to-week) for quite a bit, and Cameron Crotty, the current No. 7 on the roster, is a right-shot defender with just one NHL game under his belt.
In comes Dermott and his 339 NHL games of experience, although just 10 came in an Edmonton sweater. The soon-to-be 28-year-old didn’t generate much interest on the free-agent market last summer. Instead, he opted for a tryout with the Oilers, which he successfully converted into a one-year, two-way pact at the beginning of the regular season. After posting no points, a -3 rating and being out-attempted 132-111 in his even-strength minutes, he was scratched in nine straight games – including last night’s win over the Wild.
After suiting up for the Coyotes last season, Dermott shouldn’t have many work visa issues. General manager Bill Guerin told Russo he believes he’ll be available for tomorrow’s matinee against the Flyers. Unfortunately, he flew back to Edmonton with his former Oilers teammates last night and will need to make the trek back to Minnesota today.
Regarding Middleton, the veteran took an Evan Bouchard shot to the hand in the first period of last night’s loss and didn’t return. He’s labeled as week-to-week, but as his LTIR placement dictates, the earliest he’s eligible to return is Jan. 7 against the Blues. Whatever fracture he sustained will likely need surgery today, Russo reports.
It’s incredibly tough timing for Middleton, who turns 29 next month. He’s amid the best season of his career by far, leading the NHL with a +22 rating and averaging north of 20 minutes per game for the first time. He has five goals and 13 points in 29 games – assuming he’s available on Jan. 7, he’d still be on pace to record 31 points in about 70 games and break last year’s career-best 25.
Declan Chisholm now stands as the Wild’s top left-shot option until Brodin is ready to return (he’ll likely be the first one back). He’ll stand to see far more than his usual 16-17 minutes per game in the coming days – he’s already skated more than 20 minutes twice in Minnesota’s last five games.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Central Notes: Zuccarello, Brodin, Bortuzzo, Ingram
Sarah McLellan of Star Tribune Sports tweeted that Minnesota Wild forward Mats Zuccarello and defenseman Jonas Brodin skated with the team yesterday but there is currently no timetable for a return. Zuccarello has been out with a lower-body injury and hasn’t played since November 14th, a stretch of 12 games. Brodin, on the other hand, last played on November 25th as he tries to recover from an upper-body injury that has kept him on the sidelines for seven games.
The 37-year-old Zuccarello is having another solid season for Minnesota, tallying six goals and eight assists in 16 games, while Brodin was having one of his better offensive seasons with two goals and six assists in 19 games.
The Wild currently sit second in the Central Division with a 19-6-4 record.
In other Central Division Notes:
- The Utah Hockey Club announced that defenseman Robert Bortuzzo is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The 35-year-old was hurt on Tuesday night in a game against Minnesota and will not join his teammates on their two-game road trip. The 14-year NHL veteran has averaged the lowest ice time of his career since his rookie season in Pittsburgh and has been sheltered in his 15 appearances this season. Bortuzzo has two assists this season and has a -2 plus/minus along with 15 turnovers.
- Utah Hockey Club head coach Andre Tourigny told the media yesterday that goaltender Connor Ingram is not fit to play this week, although the netminder did practice yesterday morning (as per Belle Fraser of the Salt Lake Tribune). Ingram was placed on IR back on November 20th due to an upper-body injury and hasn’t dressed since November 18th. The 27-year-old hasn’t been able to find his game this season and has struggled, posting a goals saved above expected of -10.9 (as per Money Puck) as well as a .871 save percentage and a 3.61 goals-against average.
Wild Recall Cameron Crotty, Reassign David Jiříček
Newly-acquired David Jiříček has been on the Minnesota Wild’s roster for a week but has failed to debut with his new club. In an attempt to find Jiříček more playing time, the Wild organization has reassigned him to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, and has recalled defenseman Cameron Crotty in his stead.
It’s an inevitable roster move for Jiříček and Minnesota. It wasn’t wise for the organization to have their new defensive prospect in the press box and they’ll now give him more playing time in Iowa.
The prudent move would be to keep Jiříček with the AHL Wild unless there’s a major injury in Minnesota. The team already deploys Brock Faber and Jared Spurgeon on the right side of the defense and won’t have much use for Jiříček in the top four. Jiříček was plagued by a few years of inconsistency with the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Wild will assuredly want to avoid the same mistake.
Jiříček should finally debut with the Wild organization over a week after being acquired via trade. He’s scored two goals and three points in four AHL contests this season during his time with the Cleveland Monsters.
Replacing Jiříček in the lineup will be Iowa’s captain. After spending the last four with the now-defunct Arizona Coyotes organization, Crotty is in his first year with the Wild organization. He’s tallied five assists in 19 games for the AHL Wild this season and has managed a +2 rating.
Wild To Reassign Travis Boyd, Expected To Activate Jakub Lauko
The Minnesota Wild are swapping out one forward in favor of another. Michael Russo of The Athletic reports the Wild organization has reassigned forward Travis Boyd to the American Hockey League with Jakub Lauko expected back on Tuesday.
It’s the third time the 31-year-old Boyd has been reassigned back to the AHL’s Iowa Wild this season. The Hopkins, Minnesota native has only made two appearances for the Wild this season going scoreless while averaging 7:39 of ice time per game.
His production in Iowa has been understandably more fruitful. It’s his first stretch in the AHL since the 2019-20 season and he’s collected two goals and 11 points in 13 games. The AHL Wild will now have their third-highest scorer back as they look to stay competitive in a top-heavy AHL Central Division.
Lauko, who’s been on Minnesota’s injured reserve since November 26th due to a lower-body injury, is expected to return to the lineup against the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday. He won’t help fill the voids in the top-six forward group but will add a stabilizing presence to the bottom of the forward core.
He’s skated in 21 games throughout his first year in Minnesota adding two goals and four points overall. Lauko will provide a more physical presence compared to Boyd and should cause some trepidation from opposing teams if he’s placed on a line with Yakov Trenin.
Wild Issue Multiple Injury Updates, Place Eriksson Ek On IR
12/6: According to a team announcement, the Wild have placed Eriksson Ek on injured reserve as expected. His placement on the team’s injured reserve will likely be made retroactive to December 4th.
12/4: Depth is becoming an important factor for the best team in the league. This afternoon, the Minnesota Wild issued multiple injury updates regarding the status of Joel Eriksson Ek, Jonas Brodin, Mats Zuccarello, and Jakub Lauko.
The organization confirmed the earlier report from Michael Russo of The Athletic stating that top center Eriksson Ek would be considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury. If there’s one area of weakness Minnesota could enhance via the trade market, it would be their center depth. The Wild have managed a 1-1-1 record in the three games Eriksson Ek has already missed this season and they will now have to rely on Marco Rossi as their first-line middleman.
Rossi is adequate for this role but it thins out behind him. Minnesota will deploy a rotation of Frederick Gaudreau, Marat Khusnutdinov, and Ben Jones to center the remaining three lines which isn’t typically the quality seen from first-place teams.
The Wild could gauge the trade market for a center depending on the severity of Eriksson Ek’s injury. Minnesota already swung one of the season’s biggest trades when they acquired David Jiříček from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Jake Evans of the Montreal Canadiens comes to mind as a rental piece with playoff experience that would boost Minnesota’s depth down the middle.
The remaining injury updates didn’t have any surprises. Brodin and Zuccarello are still considered week-to-week with their respective injuries while Lauko is only on a day-to-day basis. Brodin and Lauko are on the team’s injured reserve while Zuccarello and his $4.125MM salary are on the long-term injured reserve. Still, with six out of their next 10 games against opponents currently positioned for a playoff spot, the Wild’s depth will surely be tested.