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Bill Guerin Named GM Of U.S. Four Nations And Olympic Teams

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Minnesota Wild president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin has been named the general manager of Team USA for the upcoming 2025 NHL Four Nations Face-Off as well as the 2026 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team. The announcement was made official this morning and allows the three-time U.S. Olympian to take some time before selecting his first six players for the Four Nations tournament, which is something the NHL has asked each team to do early this summer.

Guerin is no stranger to donning the American sweater as he suited up for three Olympics in 1998, 2002, and 2006, winning a silver medal in 2002. He was also a member of the 1996 Team USA World Cup team that shocked the hockey world and created one of the most iconic moments in USA hockey history when they beat Team Canada to win the tournament. Guerin is a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, having been inducted back in 2013.

Guerin retired from playing in 2010 as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins and then spent eight seasons with the team in management, winning two Stanley Cups. He was then named general manager of the Wild in August 2019 and guided Minnesota to four consecutive playoff appearances before being named president of hockey operations and general manager last July.

Guerin made sweeping changes in Minnesota during his nearly five years with the franchise with his biggest moves being the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Now he is tasked with putting together a collection of American players who can bring home gold in two separate tournaments and could be the favourite in both. Team Canada will have arguably the best forward group in both tournaments; however, the Americans will likely boast the most well-rounded team, something that Guerin and his staff will start to look at in the coming months.

Pat Maroon Undergoes Back Surgery

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Earlier this week, the Wild placed winger Pat Maroon on injured reserve.  We now know how long he’ll be out of the lineup as the team announced (Twitter link) that the veteran underwent successful back surgery on Tuesday and is set to miss the next four to six weeks.

The 35-year-old is in his first season with Minnesota after the Wild acquired him back in July for a seventh-round pick.  The change of scenery has certainly helped Maroon’s offensive game as he had 16 points in 49 games before the injury after putting up just 14 in 80 contests last season.  Of course, Maroon is also known for his physicality – he led the NHL in penalty minutes in 2022-23 – and while his hit total is down considerably, he’s averaging more than a hit and penalty minute per game.

A three-time Stanley Cup winner, Maroon has 150 career NHL playoff appearances under his belt.  That, coupled with a low-cost contract (Minnesota is only responsible for $800K of his $1MM contract), makes him an interesting depth addition for teams should Minnesota not get back into the playoff picture.  To that end, Michael Russo of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that Maroon should start skating again in a few weeks so while he might not be completely cleared to return by the March 8th deadline, he should be far enough along in his recovery that interested teams shouldn’t be scared off by the injury.

Wild Notes: Lettieri, Brodin, Chisholm, Raška

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The Minnesota Wild have activated forward Vinni Lettieri from injured reserve. Lettieri has been out since December 30th with a lower-body injury, missing the team’s last 14 games. He’s appeared in 19 games when healthy this year, scoring three goals and four points. He has also scored eight points in 10 AHL games.

Lettieri will return to the lineup looking to top 20 games in a season for only the third time in his career. The 29-year-old has played in 102 career NHL games over the last six seasons, though much of them have come in a relief role. The 2021-22 season marked the most that Lettieri has played in one season, as he appeared in 31 games and scored 10 points with the Anaheim Ducks. His only other season of more than 20 games came in the 2018-19 season – Lettieri’s rookie year – which saw the centerman net three points across 27 games.

Lettieri has also totaled 237 points across 277 career AHL games.

Other Minnesota Wild notes:

  • The Wild will be without both Jonas Brodin and Declan Chisholm for their Wednesday night matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks, per team reporter Sarah McLellan. McLellan shares that both players haven’t skated much, as Brodin is facing illness and Chisholm was traveling internationally after the team claimed him off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets last week. Both will look to enter the lineup when Minnesota hosts the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday.
  • Minnesota has sent forward Adam Raška to the minor leagues. Raška has spent a month with the NHL roster, slotting into five games but failing to change his stat line. The 22-year-old winger has also played in 20 AHL games this season, recording one goal, 61 penalty minutes, and a -5. Raška has appeared in 13 NHL games over the last three seasons, though he’s still searching for his first point. That search will be delayed a bit longer as the former seventh-round pick rejoins the Iowa Wild.

Jared Spurgeon Undergoes Successful Back Surgery

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  • On January 18th, it was announced that Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon would miss the rest of the 2023-24 season due to surgery on his back and his hip. Today, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that Spurgeon underwent successful surgery on his back, and will undergo hip surgery in approximately a month. In a lost season for both player and team, Spurgeon will have finished with a career-low 16 games played for the Wild, only tallying five assists overall.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Minnesota Wild Recall Adam Beckman

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  • With Pat Maroon, Connor Dewar, and Vinni Lettieri still on the injured reserve, the Minnesota Wild have recalled forward Adam Beckman from the Iowa Wild to round out their depth. This will be Beckman’s first call-up of the 2023-24 season after failing to make the team out of training camp. Playing in 37 games for Iowa this year, Beckman has been relatively productive, scoring nine goals and 19 points in total.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Central Notes: Lucchini, Brodin, Johnson

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After sending him down at the beginning of the All-Star break, the Wild recalled forward Jake Lucchini from AHL Iowa on Monday, per The Athletic’s Michael Russo. The move gives them a 12th healthy forward for Wednesday’s game against the Blackhawks. Pat Maroon, Connor Dewar and Vinni Lettieri remain on injured reserve and are not expected to be available.

Lucchini, 28, has yet to record a point in eight games with the Wild, averaging 8:21 per contest and posting a -1 rating. It’s been a much better showing in the minors for the veteran depth forward, who ranks among Iowa’s best point-per-game producers with 11 goals and 23 points in 30 appearances.

He’s dangerously close to losing his temporary waiver exemption after passing through unclaimed during training camp. If he plays in two more contests, a likely scenario given the Wild’s injury situation, he’ll need waivers once again to head to Iowa.

Notably, the Wild did not recall top goaltending prospect Jesper Wallstedt today. He’d been on the active roster leading into the All-Star break with Marc-André Fleury on the shelf with an upper-body injury, meaning the veteran is likely ready to dress against his former team later this week. Wallstedt allowed seven goals on 34 shots in his lone NHL appearance this season.

Elsewhere from the Central Division:

  • Sticking with Minnesota, top shutdown blue-liner Jonas Brodin was absent from today’s practice with an illness, according to Russo. The 30-year-old had three assists in his last four games heading into the All-Star break, and his status for Wednesday is unknown. The 12-year veteran missed 17 games earlier this season with an upper-body injury, putting immense pressure on rookie Brock Faber to shoulder all-situations responsibilities in his first NHL campaign. Faber’s done so well, leading Wild defenders in points (29) and average ice time (24:51). Brodin has one goal through his 32 showings this year and is second behind Faber in ice time, averaging 23:42 per game.
  • Blackhawks veteran Tyler Johnson is expected to return to the lineup against the Wild on Wednesday, head coach Luke Richardson said (via NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis). The 33-year-old missed all of Chicago’s 14 games in January with a foot fracture sustained on New Year’s Eve against the Stars. His pending IR activation brings Chicago’s injured forwards count to four, and he’s expected to resume a top-six role in his return in the continued absence of rookie Connor Bedard due to a broken jaw. The pending UFA has nine goals, 13 points, and a -15 rating in 35 contests.

Wild Place Pat Maroon On IR

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The Edmonton Oilers have announced the recall of forward Dylan Holloway from their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield. Holloway returned from a lower-body injury just before the NHL All-Star break and spent the break with the Condors where he tallied two goals and two assists in four games.

The former 14th overall pick had a poor start to the NHL season as he went pointless in his first dozen games and had just a single goal in his first 14 games. After his return from injury, he was much more effective with a goal and an assist in just four games before his AHL assignment.

With Holloway back, the Oilers will be looking to tie an NHL record with their 17th consecutive victory when they take on the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night.

In other Western Conference notes:

  • The Vancouver Canucks recalled forward Linus Karlsson from the Abbotsford Canucks of the AHL. Karlsson has been sent back and forth multiple times throughout the regular season and will have another NHL opportunity after having gone a month since last dressing for Vancouver. The 24-year-old had a solid January with three goals in five AHL games and is having a good season overall with 10 goals and 17 assists in 30 games. At the NHL level, Karlsson has dressed in four games but is still in search of his first career point.
  • The Minnesota Wild placed forward Pat Maroon on the injured reserve today as he deals with an undisclosed injury he suffered back on January 27th. Maroon has had his name thrown around ib trade rumors as of late as he is in the last year of his two-year contract and could be a valuable depth addition to a team. Maroon has four goals and 12 assists in 49 games in his first season with the Wild and could add valuable experience to a team in need of leadership and toughness. Maroon won three Stanley Cups in a row from 2019-2022 with the St. Louis Blues and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Brock Faber Named Rookie Of The Month

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As we head into the All-Star break the NHL announced its Three Stars for January. The first star of the month was Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon who posted 12 goals and 14 assists in just 12 games to lead the Avalanche to a 9-3 record in the month of January.

Following him was Edmonton Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner who had a perfect month going 9-0 with a 1.33 goals-against average and .953 save percentage as he helped guide the Oilers on their current 16-game win streak. It’s been a remarkable turnaround for Skinner after he started the season with losses in seven of his first eight games.

Finally, Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson rounds out the top-3 as he finished January with 14 goals and seven assists in 13 games and he will be headed to Toronto for his fourth NHL All-Star Game this weekend.

In other afternoon notes:

  • Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for January. The 21-year-old moved into the Calder Trophy conversation by posting two goals and 11 assists in 14 games during the first month of 2024 and averaged over 25 minutes of ice time per game. Faber became the first player in Wild history to take home the honor and led all NHL rookies in multiple statistical categories including points, time on ice, shots (with 31), blocked shots (with 38) and assists. Faber now has four goals and 25 assists in 49 games this season with the Wild.
  • The Detroit Red Wings have assigned defenseman Brogan Rafferty to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League. The move was made this morning and is most likely a paper move to allow the Wings to bank cap space during the All-Star break after their 3-2 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators last night. The 28-year-old has been a healthy scratch during his recalls this season and hasn’t played an NHL yet this year. Rafferty has two goals and 14 assists in 38 AHL games this season.

Several Teams Put In A Claim For Chisholm, Khusnutdinov Could Burn First Contract Year This Season

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  • Multiple teams are believed to have placed a claim on defenseman Declan Chisholm, report Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic (subscription link). The blueliner landed with the Wild yesterday since they had the highest priority of the claiming teams. With several teams placing a claim, it’s a bit surprising that Winnipeg was unable to move Chisholm for an asset before it came to waiving him as they likely would have reasonably suspected he was going to be claimed off the wire.  Chisholm has played just twice this season and will have to wait at least a week to play for his new team with Minnesota off until February 7th.
  • Still with the Wild, Russo relays in that same column that prospect Marat Khusnutdinov could sign with the team after his KHL season ends and burn the first year of that contract in 2023-24. The 21-year-old was a second-round pick in 2020 (37th overall) and has seen his production taper off in Russia this year.  After putting up 41 points a year ago, Khusnutdinov has just 16 in 45 games with less than a month left in the regular season.

Minnesota Wild Claim Declan Chisholm Off Waivers From Winnipeg

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The Minnesota Wild have claimed defenseman Declan Chisholm off of waivers from the Winnipeg Jets. Chisholm has played in two games with the Jets this season, scoring one point. He’s also appeared in six games and scored five points with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.

Chisholm will leave a Jets organization that he’s been with since being drafted in the fifth round of the 2018 NHL Draft. He made his professional debut in the 2020-21 season when he appeared in 28 games and scored 13 points with the Moose. He’s since only played in four career NHL games, though he has totaled 116 games and 91 points in the AHL – including 43 points in 59 games last season.

Chisholm provides the Wild with another option on defense besides Dakota Mermis and Daemon Hunt, who has served as the de facto fill-ins when Minnesota has faced injury. And they have been needed, with every Wild defender except for Brock Faber and Jacob Middleton missing some duration of time this season. That includes team captain Jared Spurgeon, who is out for the season with a hip injury. While the injuries have been a defining weakness of Minnesota’s season, they could provide Chisholm the chance to receive extended ice time in the NHL for the first time in his career. He will look to beat out Mermis, who has appeared in 33 games and scored seven points this season.

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