- After being recalled on Tuesday on an emergency basis, the Wild announced (Twitter link) that winger Liam Ohgren has been returned to AHL Iowa. The 21-year-old got into the lineup on Wednesday but with Marcus Johansson returning today against Buffalo, the emergency conditions no longer existed, necessitating his demotion or conversion to a regular recall which would have counted against their post-deadline limit of four. Ohgren is in his first full season in North America and has five points in 24 games with Minnesota but has been quite productive on the farm, tallying 14 goals and 14 assists in 28 outings with Iowa.
Wild Rumors
Wild Reassign David Jiříček, Jonas Brodin Likely To Return
The Wild announced they’ve reassigned top right-shot defense prospect David Jiříček to AHL Iowa. That bodes well for the likelihood of top shutdown rearguard Jonas Brodin returning to the lineup tomorrow against the Sabres, something head coach John Hynes called a “strong possibility” today (via Michael Russo of The Athletic).
Jiříček’s latest stint on the Minnesota roster was nothing to write home about. After being recalled on March 1 following Brodin’s injury, he sat as a healthy scratch for nine straight games while depth veteran Jonathon Merrill got an extended run in the lineup instead. Jiříček told Joe Smith of The Athletic this week that while he was disappointed with the lack of playing time, he preferred the development work with the NHL staff instead of spending time in Iowa amid a light schedule for the minor-league club over the past few weeks.
Since the Wild acquired the 2022 No. 6 overall pick from the Blue Jackets in November, he’s suited up just six times for them while posting a goal and an assist with a plus-two rating. That’s much better than what he’s shown in Iowa, where he’s failed to score and has just six assists with a minus-two rating in 26 appearances for the struggling affiliate. Before spending most of last year in the NHL with Columbus, Jiříček was an AHL All-Star in 2022-23 amid a 38-point showing in 55 games with Cleveland.
He’ll now return to the farm for the stretch run. Iowa likely won’t be making the Calder Cup Playoffs, sitting 10 points back of a spot with 14 games remaining, so he should be on Minnesota’s playoff roster. Despite their recent struggles, the team still has a 93.8% chance of clinching a playoff berth, per MoneyPuck.
Getting Brodin back is a tremendous defensive boost to a team needing to keep pucks out of their net, with Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov’s absences limiting their offensive upside. He missed nine games with a lower-body issue, another in a string of ailments for the 31-year-old Swede this season. He’s only appeared in 38 of 69 contests for the Wild, clinching his third straight season without hitting the 70-game mark.
When healthy, he’s been his usual self – if not even better, tossing in a bit more offensively than normal – with 4-14–18 with a +10 rating while averaging 22:42 per game. He continues to have positive possession impacts in difficult shutdown deployment.
Wild Sign Stevie Leskovar To Entry-Level Contract
The Wild announced they’ve signed defenseman Stevie Leskovar to a three-year, entry-level contract starting next season. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Minnesota selected Leskovar, 20, in the sixth round (No. 174 overall) of last year’s draft. His upside comes solely from physicality and defensive play. He has just 1-4–5 in 33 games with the Brampton Steelheads of the Ontario Hockey League this season, although his 70 PIMs rank fifth on the team.
That menial offensive production is slightly decreased from his 2023-24 pace when the 6’4″, 216-lb lefty posted 2-10–12, a +11 rating, and 96 shots in 61 games with a team-leading 113 PIMs. Leskovar, an Ontario native, has 20 points, 237 PIMs, and 203 shots on goal in 158 career OHL games since debuting at the major-junior level with the Peterborough Petes in 2022-23.
He doesn’t stand out much in the Wild’s prospect pool, which remains one of the league’s deepest. He didn’t earn a mention from Scott Wheeler of The Athletic when he put together his 2025 NHL prospect pool rankings, although that’s par for the course for a player selected in the sixth round after being passed over in both the 2022 and 2023 drafts. If he sniffs NHL minutes at some point during his professional career, it’ll presumably be in a bottom-pairing or press box role as a penalty-kill specialist. That’s not of much concern for Minnesota, who has names like 2024 No. 12 overall pick Zeev Buium and David Jiříček still in the pipeline.
Since Leskovar is already 20, he’s ineligible for an entry-level slide and can suit up in the pros with AHL Iowa next season. His ELC will run through the 2027-28 campaign, making him a restricted free agent upon expiry. The Wild now has 28 contracts on the books for 2025-26.
Morning Notes: Gritsyuk, Jiříček, Front Office App
Devils prospect Arseni Gritsyuk is on an expiring deal with SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League. His contract remains in effect through May 31, however, and James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now reports the team’s efforts to get him over to North America before that date appear futile. SKA remains intent on keeping Gritsyuk through the end of his deal despite general manager Tom Fitzgerald’s post-deadline statement that they wanted to get him over to New Jersey down the stretch to “show us what he can do.” The No. 3 prospect in the Devils’ system (per McKeen’s Hockey), the 24-year-old right winger has 17-26–43 in 48 games with SKA, on pace for a career-high if not for a knee injury that cost him a decent chunk of the campaign. A 2019 fifth-round pick, he has 68-83–151 in 215 career KHL games across five seasons.
Other items from around the NHL today:
- Wild prospect David Jiříček has now been scratched nine straight games since being recalled from AHL Iowa on March 1. The 21-year-old told The Athletic’s Joe Smith this week that while he’s eager to get back into game action, he’s enjoying having development time in NHL practices compared to skating for AHL Iowa, which has a sparse schedule this month. “I skated with [Jonas Brodin] and had some practices with [Marc-André Fleury]. For me, that’s always like a dream, you know? He’s a Hall of Famer. To shoot on him, it’s always a blessing. It’s actually a pretty good situation for me.” Selected sixth overall by the Blue Jackets in 2022 and acquired by the Wild in November, the righty has a goal and an assist while averaging 13:02 in six NHL appearances for Minnesota since the swap.
- The NHL has finally created an app comparable to sites like PuckPedia, CapWages, and the now-defunct CapFriendly – but they’re keeping it in-house. Stephen Whyno of the AP reports the league has launched an iPad app, developed by SAP, for use only by teams’ front offices that “modernizes the league’s roster, contract and salary cap information.” Instead of having to coalesce with the league’s Central Registry and keep track of official contract information on a team-by-team basis, NHL GMs will now have private access to every team’s active roster size, salary cap room, injured reserve statuses, and no-move and no-trade clauses in players’ contracts.
Wild Recall Liam Ohgren Under Emergency Conditions
The Minnesota Wild have recalled top wing prospect Liam Ohgren under emergency conditions. The move comes after an unnamed member of the Wild fell sick, per Michael Russo of The Athletic. Forward Marcus Foligno is also facing a day-to-day absence and sat out of Monday’s game. Ohgren will be eligible to play should both Foligno and the ill Wild player both need to sit out. The Wild’s next game comes against Seattle on Wednesday.
This move returns Ohgren to the NHL roster after 11 days, and four games, in the minor leagues. He didn’t manage any scoring in his first two games back in the minors, but amassed two goals and five points in a pair of games this weekend. That scoring brought Ohgren up to 28 points, split evenly, in 29 AHL games this season. He is the only Iowa Wild skater still rivaling point-per-game scoring, and ranks sixth on the team in total points despite playing fewer games than Iowa forward with more than 10 points.
Despite hot scoring in the minors, Ohgren still hasn’t found his groove at the NHL level. He has just four points in 23 games with Minnesota this season, adding to his two points in four NHL games last year. The Wild have moved Ohgren around the bottom-six to try and spark his scoring, though he’s averaged just 11:06 in ice time through the full season.
This call-up will give Ohgren another chance to spark his NHL scoring after a hot weekend in the minor leagues. He’ll need specific circumstances to prompt a return to the Minnesota lineup, including another absence for lineup fixture Foligno – who’s scored 22 points in 67 games from a third-line role this season. Ohgren will likely absorb most of Foligno’s minutes, should he get to play.
Upper-Body Injury For Foligno
- The Wild announced (Twitter link) that winger Marcus Foligno was scratched from tonight’s game against Los Angeles due to an upper-body injury. The 33-year-old leads Minnesota in hits with 219 through 67 games this season but his offensive production has been limited once again as he has just 11 goals and 11 assists while logging a little over 14 minutes a night. There’s no word yet on how long Foligno might be out for.
Wild Welcome Jonas Brodin Back To Practice After Injury
- Top-pair Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin also returned to practice on Monday per Joe Smith of The Athletic. Smith adds that head coach John Hynes dubbed Brodin as day-to-day and out for Monday night’s game. The top shutdown defender has missed Minnesota’s last seven games with a lower-body injury, pulling him deeper into the well of absences this year. He’s now played in just 38 of the Wild’s 67 games on the year. Those routine absences have held Brodin to just 18 points on the season. That mark stands as the highest points-per-game average of Brodin’s career (.474), just narrowly beating out his previous career high set when he scored 27 points in 62 games last season (.435). But without a clean bill of health, Brodin hasn’t had a chance to relish in a newfound scoring gear. For yet another time this season, he’ll now be tasked with getting back to full speed so he can support Minnesota’s top defense pair with a tough streak coming up.
Jonas Brodin Continues To Practice
- In other injury news, Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin has skated three straight days as he seeks to return from a lower-body injury, per Michael Russo of The Athletic. The veteran of 841 career games, Brodin had been a key contributor for the Wild, aided by his plus-10 rating and 22:42 of ice time per game. Brodin, 31, left the Wild’s game against the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 28 and GM Bill Guerin announced soon after that Brodin would be sidelined on a week-to-week basis. The injury was believed to be caused by a shot block. Regardless of the cause, Brodin’s return to the lineup will no doubt support Minnesota’s efforts in solidifying their position in the playoff seedings. The team currently finds themselves in the first wildcard spot in the west, but has sputtered to a 4-5-1 record over their last 10 contests.
- The Stars are also getting a few key players back in the fold, as left winger Roope Hintz (face) and defender Lian Bichsel (illness) skated with the team today, per Stars reporter Mike Heika. The return of Hintz is an obvious boost to the lineup, as the 28-year-old is on his way to his fourth-straight 30-plus goal season. Hintz was injured when he took a puck to the face during a contest against the Oilers on March 8. In 59 contests this season, Hintz has 25 goals, 26 assists, and 51 points. Bichsel missed the Stars’ Friday night matchup against the Wild due to illness and was replaced in the lineup by veteran Brendan Smith. The 20-year-old Bichsel has looked the part of an NHL-ready player, posting five points and a plus-6 rating in his first 22 career contests. Bichsel was the organization’s first-round selection in the 2021 draft (18th overall). It remains to be seen if Hintz and/or Bichsel will be available for tomorrow’s matchup against the Ducks.
Maple Leafs Acquire Reese Johnson
It turns out all of the trades of the day weren’t in after all. The Maple Leafs have made a move to add a bit more forward depth, acquiring forward Reese Johnson from the Wild in exchange for future considerations. Both teams have confirmed the swap.
The 26-year-old has spent the majority of the season in the minors with AHL Iowa, collecting four goals and nine assists in 49 games. He also got into three games with Minnesota back in December but was held off the scoresheet in 9:32 of playing time per contest.
While Johnson hasn’t seen much action at the top level this season, he does have 144 career appearances under his belt. He got into 141 games with Chicago over the last four seasons, primarily playing on their fourth line. With them, he had seven goals, ten assists, and 450 hits while winning 51.7% of his faceoffs but the Blackhawks declined to tender him a qualifying offer last summer, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Johnson is playing on a one-year, two-way contract worth $775K in the NHL and $500K in the minors and will be RFA-eligible this summer with salary arbitration eligibility. Given his NHL experience, it’s unlikely he’d be tendered that offer as that would play a role in his awarded salary which would likely push him past the $1MM mark despite spending most of this year in the AHL.
As a result of their moves today, the Maple Leafs placed winger Max Pacioretty on LTIR and even with that, they only have $195K in cap room, per PuckPedia. Accordingly, Johnson will be ticketed to play with the AHL Marlies for the foreseeable future.
Wild Acquire Justin Brazeau
According to ESPN’s Kevin Weekes, the Minnesota Wild are acquiring winger Justin Brazeau from the Boston Bruins in exchange for forwards Marat Khusnutdinov and Jakub Lauko and a 2026 sixth-round draft pick. Minnesota has made the deal official.
With Boston shifting into a seller’s mindset over the last week, Brazeau became an obvious trade chip. The New Liskeard, Ontario native was in the final year of a two-year, $1.55MM contract and was one of the few pending unrestricted free agents of value on the Bruins’ roster.
Brazeau is in his first full NHL season after splitting last year between the Boston and Providence Bruins. He has 20 points, split evenly, in 57 games this season and ranks seventh on the team with 89 hits. Minnesota was drawn to Brazeau’s lofty six-foot-six, 227-pound frame – and his right-hand shot – shares Michael Russo of The Athletic.
Brazeau’s pro career began on an ECHL contract with the Newfoundland Growlers in the 2019-20 season. He broke into the pros with 55 points in 57 games, enough to earn a mid-season call-up to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies and an everyday role with the squad in the following year. Brazeau’s AHL start was slow-going in the shortened 2020-21 season, backed by just five points in his first 22 AHL games. The Marlies opted to move on from Brazeau in the following summer, setting him up for a move to the Bruins organization. On the back of cold scoring, he returned to the ECHL for the start of the 2021-22 campaign. But Brazeau quickly earned another call-up after netting 20 points in 18 games. He didn’t let his second chance slip, netting 31 points in 51 games in his first season in Providence. He doubled down with 45 points in 67 games of the 2022-23 campaign, and 37 points in 49 AHL games last year – hot enough scoring to earn the lumbering winger his first NHL call-up.
The Bruins have kept Brazeau on the NHL roster since his first recall in February of 2024. He’s totaled 15 goals and 27 points in 76 career NHL games – and seems to be finding better footing as a third-line role specialist this year. He’ll bring a strong net-front presence to a Wild roster that only has one player – fringe defenseman David Jiricek – taller than six-foot-three.
In exchange for Brazeau, the Wild give up a pair of depth forwards. Lauko has served as one of
the team’s top physical presences when he’s healthy, though routine games have come few and far between. Lauko has six points, 27 penalty minutes, and a minus-five in 38 games this season, while tying for fourth on the team with 69 hits. He’s missed 24 games with various lower-body injuries, including a dismal stretch at the end of 2024 where Lauko missed two weeks with one injury, made his return, then got reinjured in his first game back and missed an additional month. He returned briefly before landing back on injured reserve for 20 days of February.
Lauko was in his first season with the Wild after spending the last two years – the first two seasons of his NHL career – with the Bruins. He’ll return to Boston looking to spur his never-ending string of bad health.
Khusnutdinov will join Lauko in the move out East. The 22-year-old has played in 73 games as Minnesota’s fourth-line center over the last two seasons but managed only three goals and 11 points. Khusnutdinov was far more productive over a four-year career in Russia’s KHL, where he suited up for SKA St. Petersburg and their farm club, HC Sochi. Khusnutdinov totaled 22 goals and 75 points across 162 KHL games before he even turned 21. That includes a single-season high of 11 goals and 41 points in 63 games of the 2022-23 season. He moved to Minnesota after Sochi’s 2023-24 campaign came to an end, and has so far struggled to find his footing in North American pros. He’ll slot in as a young and capable depth centerman for a needy Bruins club – and boasts an interesting amount of upside given his secondary inclusion in this deal. How Boston taps into that upside could go a long way towards tailoring their long-term plan, while Brazeau brings a towering addition to a Wild club looking for short-term success.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
