Snapshots: Carter, Crawford, Faulk

The Minnesota Wild have signed forward Ryan Carter to a one-year, two-way contract, according to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune. The deal is worth a pro-rated $575K at the NHL level and $250K in the AHL.

Carter had major shoulder surgery in October to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Many believed this was it for the 33-year-old left winger due to his age and the seriousness of  his injury. Carter has been skating with the Wild for the better part of a month, and told Dane Mizutani of TwinCities.com that he couldn’t give up his career without at least trying to come back.

“I wanted to be a part of it, and for awhile it hurt a little bit that I wasn’t a part of it. It’s good to be here now.”

Carter was reportedly in talks with the Wild for the past month, and last week signed a Professional Try-Out (PTO) with the Iowa Wild of the AHL. He is without a point in three appearances with the AHL club.

In a related news item, the Wild have recalled center Zac Dalpe from Iowa. The big forward has three points in nine games with the Wild this season, and two goals in 12 games with their AHL affiliate.

• The Chicago Blackhawks will be without starting goaltender Corey Crawford when they take on the St. Louis Blues this afternoon, according to Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune. Crawford is battling an illness and won’t be able to dress. Coach Joel Quenneville told the media that Crawford does not have the mumps. Chris Hine, also from the Tribune, quoted Quenneville as saying that Lars Johansson will likely get the emergency call up from Rockford to backup Scott Darling.
• The venerable Postmedia reporter Jim Matheson reported that Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk is in play at the trade deadline. Faulk is having a poor year with 25 points (just one assist in his last six games), but has a history of being a point-producing defenseman. Matheson cites the play of Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, and Noah Hanifin as the reason that Faulk is on the market. The Hurricanes would be need a young center in return, Matheson believes. Despite the fact that plenty of teams would be interested in Faulk even though he’s having a poor season, any potential deal may have to wait until after the season; Faulk makes $4.83MM and has three years left on his contract after this season.