Minnesota Wild Recall Vinni Lettieri
After assigning recent callup, Samuel Walker, back to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, earlier today, the Minnesota Wild have called up a different forward to take his place in the lineup. The team announced that they have recalled Vinni Lettieri, a recent signee of the organization after spending the last two years in Anaheim and Boston, respectively.
An undrafted college free agent coming out of the University of Minnesota after the 2016-17 season, Lettieri would originally sign on with the New York Rangers under a two-year contract. Primarily playing with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL during his three-year run in the Rangers organization, Lettieri would impress at the league’s highest minor league level. However, although garnering solid production at the AHL level, Lettieri would fail to score more than 10 points over 46 games as a Ranger.
Before starting the 2020-21 season, Lettieri would sign a back-to-back one-year contracts with the Anaheim Ducks organization, once again spending much of his time in the AHL. Given the team’s competitiveness at the time, Lettieri was able to play in 31 games for the Ducks during the 2021-22 season, scoring five goals and five assists, the best statistical output he’s had to this day.
After his time in the Ducks organization ended, Lettieri found his most recent landing spot in the Boston Bruins organization on a one-year contract. In 48 games played for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, Lettieri scored 23 goals and 26 points, which was good for second on the team in scoring even after missing a month of action with a lower-body injury.
Already off to a hot start in Iowa to start this season, Lettieri will once again get the opportunity to prove his worth at the NHL level. However, with Minnesota starting off the season tied for 28th in goals against, Lettieri may have to focus primarily on keeping the puck out of his own net.
Minnesota Wild Reassign Sammy Walker To AHL
The Minnesota Wild have reassigned forward Sammy Walker to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild. The move lands Walker back in the AHL just four days after he was originally recalled.
Walker, 24, played in two games for Minnesota on this most recent call-up. Walker struggled in both contests and saw his ice time decline to just 7:26 last night, despite the game extending into overtime.
As the team has suffered back-to-back losses, it appears Minnesota will likely call up a different forward to fill Walker’s vacated spot on their roster with the hope that a fresh addition can help spark a return to winning ways.
This reassignment will also help out AHL Iowa, who have struggled to start the season. The team is currently 1-3 with a -10 goal differential despite playing just four games. Two of the team’s losses have been genuine blowouts and Iowa’s 11 goals scored rank 21st in the AHL.
Walker was a star rookie for Iowa last season, scoring 27 goals and 48 points in 56 games. The consistent offense he displayed as a Minnesota Golden Gopher seemed to translate to the AHL level, meaning his return to Iowa should give the team a better chance of winning games.
The priority for Minnesota, though, lies at the NHL level where the team is looking to keep pace in what will be a highly competitive Central Division.
In terms of candidates to fill Walker’s vacated role on a line with Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Johansson, 336-game NHL veteran Jujhar Khaira could get a shot if the team wants more of a defensive flavor in their call-up, while Nic Petan or prospect Adam Beckman would give more of an offensive touch.
Boldy Resumes Skating But Remains Week To Week
- Wild winger Matt Boldy skated on Friday for the first time as he works his way back from an upper-body injury sustained earlier this week in Toronto, notes John Shipley of the Pioneer Press. However, head coach Dean Evason was quick to point out that this doesn’t mean that Boldy is nearing a return; the week-to-week designation remains. The 22-year-old had 31 goals last season and will be a big part of Minnesota’s attack when he’s able to return.
Minnesota Wild Recall Samuel Walker; Place Goligoski On LTIR
Before last night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, the Minnesota Wild announced that defenseman Alex Goligoski would miss the game due to a lower-body injury suffered in practice the day before. Today, according to a team announcement, the team has placed Goligoski on LTIR, and recalled forward Samuel Walker from their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, in a corresponding move.
For the time being, the Wild will likely operate with only six defensemen on the active roster, with Dakota Mermis replacing Goligoski’s spot in the lineup. Team captain, Jared Spurgeon, is still listed as week-to-week as he recovers from an upper-body injury, but would give the team a much deeper blue line upon his return.
After an exceptionally poor start to the season in terms of production and penalties, this lower-body injury is another negative moment for Goligoski in this very young season. At 38 years old, and a pending unrestricted free agent at the end of this year, this may spell the end of the line for the veteran defenseman in Minnesota.
Walker, who was the 200th overall selection in the 2017 NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning, would end up playing four years at the University of Minnesota, before finally landing with the Wild in 2022 as a college free agent. Primarily playing in Iowa last season, Walker had quite a productive season, scoring 27 goals and 21 assists in 56 games, finishing fourth on the team in points.
Alex Goligoski Out With Lower-Body Injury
Absent from tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, the Minnesota Wild announced that defenseman Alex Goligoski is out with a lower-body injury. For context on that injury, Michael Russo of The Athletic reported that Goligoski injured himself sometime during practice with the team yesterday.
Playing on the last year of a two-year, $4MM contract signed with the Wild back in 2022, Goligoski is not getting off to the best start in what could be his final year in the NHL. In the team’s first two games, Goligoski has averaged just over 17 minutes of ice time, scoring zero points, blocking five shots, and already carrying a -3 rating.
In Minnesota’s most recent game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Goligoski would take a tripping penalty near the beginning of the second period, allowing the Maple Leafs to take a 4-1 lead on the night after a Tyler Bertuzzi goal on the powerplay. The Wild finished the second period on a high note, pulling themselves one goal away from tying the game. Nevertheless, with about seven minutes gone in the third period, Goligoski took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, eliminating Minnesota’s momentum for the rest of the evening.
Replacing Goligoski in the lineup tonight will be 29-year-old defenseman Dakota Mermis, who has yet to play in any games for the Wild up to this point. More importantly, however, if Goligoski continues his run of play on the Minnesota blue line, he could find himself on the waiver wire once captain Jared Spurgeon returns from his upper-body injury.
Wild Expected To Send Down Mermis, Recall Forward
- The Athletic’s Michael Russo expects the Wild to send defender Dakota Mermis to the AHL and recall a forward for the team’s upcoming three-game homestand – assuming they get through the final game of their road trip unscathed. The Wild only have $51K in cap space, limiting their options to recall. They currently have six forwards with a cap hit equal to, or less than, Mermis, including recent signee Jujhar Khaira.
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Wild’s Matt Boldy Out Week-To-Week
Minnesota Wild forward Matt Boldy is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury sustained against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, GM Bill Guerin tells The Athletic’s Michael Russo. At this time, he’s not expected to be out long enough to be eligible for long-term injured reserve, but the Wild will re-evaluate him when they return from their road trip.
Boldy, 22, has quickly cemented himself as a core member of the Wild’s attack since turning pro in 2021. Last season – his first full one in the NHL – he notched 31 goals and 63 points in 81 contests, finishing second on the team in goals. The performance was strong enough to earn him a sizable seven-year, $49MM extension from the Wild mid-season.
The 12th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft is well on his way to putting up high-end point totals with responsible defensive impacts, posting a 52.6% Corsi share last season while receiving a near-equal amount of offensive and defensive zone starts. He notched a goal and assist through two contests this season before leaving the game against Toronto early.
His absence adds to a tricky cap situation for the Wild, who now have a combined $14.575MM on the shelf with captain Jared Spurgeon dealing with a shorter-term upper-body injury. That’s on top of the $14.75MM in space the Wild have tied up in the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, meaning Minnesota has nearly $30MM in dead money on the books for the time being until one of Boldy and Spurgeon can return. The Wild do not have cap space to make a corresponding transaction here and will likely dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen against Montreal on Tuesday.
If there is a player likely to slide up to the top-six in Boldy’s wake, look for veteran winger Marcus Foligno to reprise his role as a winger on a line with Joel Eriksson Ek, something he’s done with regularity over the past few seasons. Normally, Jordan Greenway was riding shotgun with them, but he’s now a member of the Buffalo Sabres after a trade last season.
No Update On Matt Boldy After Leaving Saturday's Game
- Another core player for a Central Division team left a game last night – Wild winger Matt Boldy, who was one of the few bright spots in a poor defensive showing in a 7-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Athletic’s Michael Russo says it’s likely an upper-body ailment, but head coach Dean Evason did not have an update on Boldy’s status post-game. The Wild have only 12 forwards on the active roster, and if Boldy cannot play Tuesday against Montreal, the Wild would either need to dress seven defensemen or send Dakota Mermis to AHL Iowa and recall a forward in his place. The Wild do not have cap space to recall a healthy extra if Boldy is out of the lineup with defenseman Jared Spurgeon already unavailable.
Latest On Marcus Johansson
- Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Johansson left last night’s season opener with an apparent injury after being “crumpled into the boards” by Florida Panthers rookie defenseman Uvis Balinskis. Per The Athletic’s Michael Russo, Wild head coach Dean Evason did not give any update on Johansson’s status postgame. Russo surmised that a Johansson absence might force the Wild to either run seven defensemen for their next game, swap Dakota Mermis off their roster for a cheap call-up from the AHL’s Iowa Wild, or play a man short.
Minnesota Wild Recall Dakota Mermis
The Minnesota Wild have recalled defenseman Dakota Mermis from the Iowa Wild of the AHL. Head coach Dean Evason hinted that the team would need to recall a player to serve as insurance for any injury or illness that comes up as Minnesota embarks on a two-game road trip this weekend. Bringing up a defender like Mermis makes sense, as the Wild are still grappling with captain Jared Spurgeon‘s injury.
Mermis has strung together 27 NHL games since making his debut in the 2017-18 season, though he’s failed to appear in more than 10 NHL games in one single season. The bulk of his career has instead been played in the AHL, where he’s amassed 426 career games. This includes 63 games with the Iowa Wild last season, where Mermis recorded a career-high 26 points. He also tallied 73 penalty minutes – an exciting succession to the 86 penalty minutes he recorded in 59 games during the 2021-22 season. Mermis currently has the cheapest cap hit of any defender in the Wild organization, signed to a league-minimum $775K salary through the end of this season. He’s also one of the older blue-liners in the system, with only five defenders
While Mermis has been recalled for the road trip, it doesn’t seem there is currently a plan for him to start. He’ll instead serve as the team’s seventh defender, as young players like Calen Addison and Brock Faber slot into the lineup ahead of him. If Mermis finds his way into the lineup on this road trip and how Minnesota utilizes the price-controlled defender throughout the season will be worth monitoring, as Mermis looks to fight his way into a consistent NHL role.