- The Minnesota Wild could be due to get a couple of key pieces in the lineup in time for their playoff series against the St. Louis Blues. As The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports, both Mats Zuccarello and Marcus Foligno practiced this morning for the Wild (link). Zuccarello has done well to stay healthy for a majority of this season, however he has not played since April 22nd after suffering a lower-body injury. Foligno on the other hand was only injured on Friday night against the Colorado Avalanche, the Wild’s final game of the season. As encouraging as the news is, the Wild have not confirmed whether either player will be available for Game 1 on Monday night. Having both players in the lineup is crucial for the Wild, as both earned career-highs in points this season, with Zuccarello ranking third on the team in points and Foligno considered one of the better two-way players in the sport.
Wild Rumors
Marco Rossi To Be Evaluated For Injury
- Marco Rossi is headed back to Minnesota to be evaluated for an injury according to Michael Russo of The Athletic, who notes that several players from the Iowa Wild will be recalled as “Black Aces” in the near future. Iowa failed to make the playoffs this season meaning Rossi and others–which, according to Russo will include Zane McIntyre and Calen Addison–can come up to practice with the team and be ready for any injuries that may present themselves in the first round.
Minnesota Wild Sign Simon Johansson
The Minnesota Wild have landed a prospect that was running out of time, signing Simon Johansson to a two-year entry-level contract. The 22-year-old defenseman could have become an unrestricted free agent if not signed by June. Instead, he’ll start his contract in 2022-23 with Minnesota, though he may end up overseas once again.
Selected 148th overall in 2018, Johansson spent this season playing for Ilves in Liiga, where he is still contracted through next year. If he fails to break camp with Minnesota, it is a possibility that he’ll be loaned back to Finland.
If that does happen, it would be a huge boost for his club team there, as Johansson was a standout this season. With 32 points in 58 games he was among the highest-scoring defensemen in the league, and he added another seven in ten playoff contests. A natural powerplay quarterback, he is an interesting option for the Wild in the future if he can continue to develop his defensive game.
Obviously, Minnesota will need some inexpensive roster options in the coming years as they deal with massive buyout penalties from Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. While Johansson may not be ready for that just yet, getting him under contract was the only way to know for sure.
Upper-Body Injury For Jared Spurgeon
- Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon left last night’s game early in the first period. While some were hoping he was being held out as a precautionary measure, head coach Dean Evason told reporters postgame, including Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link), that the blueliner suffered an upper-body injury and will undergo testing to learn how much time he’ll miss. The timing is hardly optimal for Minnesota as Spurgeon is one of their top defensemen (he leads their back end in points with 39 while sitting third in ATOI at just over 21 minutes a night) and their first-round series against St. Louis starting early next week.
Joseph Cramarossa Recalled From Iowa
- The Wild announced they’ve recalled winger Joseph Cramarossa from AHL Iowa. The 29-year-old has played in 51 games in the minors this season, notching 19 points after spending most of last year on the taxi squad. Cramarossa’s promotion was needed with winger Mats Zuccarello being ruled out for Sunday’s game in Nashville.
Dumba A 'Wildcard' For Returning For The Start Of The Playoffs
The availability for Wild defenseman Mathew Dumba heading into the playoffs appears to be uncertain. Michael Russo of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that head coach Dean Evason is calling the blueliner a “wildcard” in terms of his potential readiness for their opening game against St. Louis. In particular, Dumba hasn’t been shooting the puck well. He’d be a big loss for them if he can’t start in the postseason with the 27-year-old logging over 23 minutes a game this season.
Meanwhile, the news is better for winger Jordan Greenway. While he has already been ruled out for Sunday’s game in Nashville, Evason indicated that Greenway is ahead of Dumba in his recovery which suggests he may be able to return to the Wild’s lineup next week. The 25-year-old has 23 points in 59 games this season.
Marc-Andre Fleury Plans To Return Next Season
With Marc-Andre Fleury’s three-year, $21MM contract extension expiring this offseason, many wondered if the 37-year-old netminder would return to NHL ice for 2022-23, especially after his offseason trade to the Chicago Blackhawks and ensuing retirement rumors. The answer to that query appears to be yes, with Fleury saying today he’d “like to play another season” after this one.
Fleury had a rough start to the season in Chicago, putting up one of the league’s worst goaltending performances early on behind a shoddy defense. But as the defense improved under new head coach Derek King, so did he, to the point where he boasted a .908 save percentage and fetched a conditional first-round pick at the Trade Deadline from the Minnesota Wild. He’s kept his solid play going since the trade, posting a .921 save percentage and saving 4.45 goals above average so far in a Wild uniform (according to Natural Stat Trick).
He is an unrestricted free agent this offseason, however, and with Minnesota’s impending severe cap crunch, many contending teams are likely to be in a position to offer him more money. It’s not impossible to rule out the option of Fleury taking a discount to stay in the Twin Cities, though, especially if he helps catapult the team to a deep playoff run.
If Fleury does join a fifth NHL team though, it would be his fourth in just the past three seasons, a high level of movement for the future Hall-of-Famer considering he spent the first 13 years of his career in Pittsburgh. Another season as a starter would give him a fighting chance at 1,000 NHL games, a mark achieved only by three other goalies in NHL history — Martin Brodeur (1,266), Roberto Luongo (1,044), and Patrick Roy (1,029). He currently sits at 935 games played, and with a few more starts down the stretch this season, he’d like need 55-60 games worth of action next year to hit the millennium mark.
One team likely to make a huge pitch for Fleury is the Colorado Avalanche, who were linked to him multiple times throughout the season but ended up pulling out with Darcy Kuemper regaining his form. Kuemper is a pending unrestricted free agent, though, and if the two can’t agree to an extension, expect the Avalanche to once again be connected to ’Flower.’
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Can Wild Afford To Keep Fiala; Can They Afford To Lose Him?
- Michael Russo of The Athletic outlines (subscription link) the tough decision the Wild are facing this summer. Their cap situation gets a lot worse with the increased dead cap charges on the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts and it appears they’ll be facing a situation where either winger Kevin Fiala or defenseman Mathew Dumba get traded. Minnesota wasn’t able to agree to a long-term deal with Fiala last summer and wound up taking him to salary arbitration. He has one year of RFA eligibility remaining and with 73 points in 75 games, he’ll be eyeing a big raise on his $5.1MM price tag while making it very difficult to justify moving him. Dumba is signed through next season at $6MM and would certainly have a strong trade market if they opted to move him to keep Fiala in the fold.
Marcus Foligno Placed In COVID Protocol
The Minnesota Wild have placed Marcus Foligno into the league’s COVID-19 protocol, ruling him out for the next few days. With him unavailable, the team has recalled Mitchell Chaffee from the AHL. Though the NHL no longer tests daily, with the Wild heading to Montreal and then back to the U.S., the entire traveling party would have undergone testing.
Foligno, 30, in the midst of a career year, with 22 goals and 39 points in 71 appearances for the Wild. The always-excellent defensive forward has turned up his offensive game with an incredible 23.7% shooting percentage and has found amazing chemistry with center Joel Eriksson Ek. He will now miss at least five days, meaning tomorrow’s match against the Canadiens, Thursday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks, and potentially Friday’s match against the Seattle Kraken.
As Michael Russo of The Athletic points out though, this isn’t necessarily coming at a terrible time. Foligno had been dealing with some minor injuries, and could use the time to rest and recover, if his symptoms are not too dramatic. With the Wild firmly in a Central Division playoff spot–ten points ahead of both the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators–getting Foligno back to full health before the postseason is obviously a priority.
For Chaffee, it could represent his first real opportunity in the NHL. Though he has been recalled a few times in the past, the 24-year-old forward has never actually suited up for a game with Minnesota, and has to this point only played in the AHL. He’s been great for the Iowa Wild, with 22 goals and 37 points in 45 games this season, but will be facing an entirely new test should he enter the NHL lineup in the coming days.
Tyson Jost, Jon Merrill Out; Jordan Greenway, Matt Dumba Closer To Returning
There was good news and bad news today for the St. Louis Blues. The good news was the team clinched a playoff spot with a 6-5 overtime win over the Minnesota Wild. The bad news was defenseman Nick Leddy taking a high stick near his eye, causing him to leave the game. The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford spoke to Blues’ Head Coach Craig Berube, who said that the incident had blurred Leddy’s vision and he is not expected to play tomorrow against the Nashville Predators.
- The Athletic’s Michael Russo provided several updates on the Minnesota Wild, per Head Coach Dean Evason. Most notably, Tyson Jost, who took a big hit from Pavel Buchnevich earlier today, will not play tomorrow against the San Jose Sharks for precautionary reasons. Evason also notes that defenseman Jon Merrill is still out of the lineup going forward, having not played since March 31st with an upper-body injury. In more positive news for the Wild, Evason says that forward Jordan Greenway has started skating and star defenseman Mathew Dumba is getting closer to return as well.