Snapshots: Shaw, Grzelcyk, Penguins

10/3/2023 – The Minnesota Wild have signed Mason Shaw to a one-year, one-way, AHL contract. Shaw will continue rehabbing his torn ACL with the AHL’s Iowa Wild. Minnesota will need to send Shaw through waivers if they want to turn this into an NHL contract.

10/3/2023 – The Athletic’s Michael Russo recently spoke to the likelihood that the Minnesota Wild re-sign Mason Shaw when the forward is healthy. Russo shares that Shaw seems to still be a member of the Wild in every way except a contract. This includes skating at the team’s practice rink and wearing Wild gear. Head coach Dean Evason seemed to support that sentiment, telling Russo, “[Shaw]’s a big part of our group. He’s a big part of our grit level, our determination level, our drive. We’re hoping this continues to progress the right way.”

Mason Shaw is continuing to rehab a torn ACL suffered late into the 2022-23 season. He’s now in month six of the six-month recovery window he was given at the time of the injury and has resumed skating. But despite making progress, Russo doesn’t shed light on when Shaw may return to routine activities. The 24-year-old forward played his rookie NHL season last year, appearing in 59 games and scoring 17 points. He’s never played outside of the Wild organization and it seems, when he’s healthy again, that pattern will continue.

More notes from around the league:

• An NHL scout shared with Boston Hockey Now’s Jimmy Murphy that teams are expressing interest in Bruins defender Matt Grzelcyk. This interest picks up in the midst of strong camps from young Boston prospects, including defender Mason Lohrei. Murphy’s source shares that the Chicago Blackhawks may be particularly interested in Grzelyck, saying, “Grzelcyk is better than any left-shot D they have now, and they have cap space. He could be great on their powerplay.”
• The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Ty Smith, Avery Hayes, and Rem Pitlick to their training camp roster, after assigning all three to the minors just recently. It’s likely this move is just to get the trio more preseason game action but it’s notable, as Ty Smith’s assignment to the minors elicited a strong reaction from fans and onlookers. If this move is temporary, and how Smith will be utilized moving forward, will be items to watch as the Penguins enter the regular season.