The Wild have opened up a roster spot as the team announced (Twitter link) that winger Tyler Pitlick has been sent down to AHL Iowa. They now have 22 players on their active roster.
The 34-year-old was recalled last month and got into nine games. That’s particularly noteworthy as had he suited up one more time, he would have needed to pass through waivers to return to Iowa. By sending Pitlick down now, they can hold onto his waiver exemption a little while longer.
In those nine outings, Pitlick was held off the scoresheet offensively but added 24 hits and 22 penalty minutes in 7:23 per game of ice time. 20 of those penalty minutes came on Thursday against Carolina after he was given a match penalty for a hit on Carolina’s Jalen Chatfield. It appears the league rescinded that penalty as no supplemental discipline came his way.
In his career, Pitlick has played in 429 NHL games over parts of 11 NHL seasons and has 56 goals and 53 assists in those appearances. He had two goals in three games with Iowa before being recalled last month.