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Devin Shore

Devin Shore Signs With HC Sparta Prague

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After spending his entire career in North America, pending UFA forward Devin Shore is heading overseas. He signed a one-year deal with HC Sparta Prague of the Czech Extraliga today, the club announced.

Shore, 31 in July, spent this season on a two-way deal with the Wild. He was meant to be a top-six piece for AHL Iowa, but a never-ending list of injuries to Minnesota’s forward group meant he spent most of the season up with the big club.

Outside of throwing the body with 76 hits, he wasn’t particularly effective in fourth-line minutes. Averaging 8:39 of ice time over 55 games, Shore recorded a 1-4–5 scoring line, a minus-eight rating, and some of the worst even-strength possession metrics on the team (40.9 CF%, 38.1 xGF%).

Shore was once an everyday NHL contributor and even had back-to-back 30-point seasons with the Stars in 2016-17 and 2017-18 to kick off his career, but he hasn’t held down a consistent role since. His 55 appearances this season were his most since the 2018-19 campaign, and he hasn’t hit double digits in goals since then, either.

A second-round pick by Dallas in 2012, he’s appeared in parts of the last 10 NHL seasons and has also made stops in Anaheim, Columbus, Edmonton, and Seattle. He heads overseas after recording 52 goals and 144 points in 498 NHL games, a career that’s unlikely to extend at his age.

He’ll head to Czechia to link up with other ex-NHLers like Roman Horák, Michal Kempný, and Mark Pysyk on Sparta’s 2025-26 roster.

Snapshots: Shore, Jets, Cull, Devils

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The Wild announced that they’ve recalled center Devin Shore from AHL Iowa.  It’s the seventh recall of the season for the 30-year-old who actually spent the bulk of the regular season with Minnesota.  Shore got into 55 NHL games this season, his highest total since the 2018-19 campaign.  However, production was hard to come by as he was limited to just one goal and four assists in those outings while logging just 8:39 per contest of ice time.  Shore was more productive in the minors, picking up two goals and eight assists in 15 appearances with Iowa.  With Iowa not making the AHL playoffs, more recalls will likely be coming in the next few days.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Jets winger Gabriel Vilardi returned to practice in a non-contact jersey, relays TSN’s John Lu (Twitter link). The 25-year-old has missed the last four weeks with an upper-body injury, bringing a career year offensively to an early end.  Vilardi had 61 points in 71 games this season but may still be a few days away from returning.  That’s also the case for center Rasmus Kupari.  Murat Ates of The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that he has been cleared to return from his concussion but will need a few practices with contact before being an option to suit up.  Meanwhile, Ates adds that defenseman Ville Heinola is also dealing with a nagging injury.  That has been a familiar refrain for the blueliner who was limited to just 18 games this season due to injury trouble.
  • The Flames announced that interim assistant coach Trent Cull is returning to AHL Calgary and will return to his duties as head coach of the Wranglers heading into the playoffs. Cull was moved behind the bench with the Flames following assistant coach Brad Larsen’s indefinite leave of absence due to family reasons.  Joe Cirella had been serving as interim head coach of the Wranglers and will now resume his assistant coach duties while Martin Gelinas, who was named as an interim assistant with them following Cull’s promotion, will remain in that role for the playoffs.
  • It would be a surprise to see defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler suit up for the Devils in their series against Carolina, relays team reporter Amanda Stein (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has missed the last two-and-a-half months with a lower-body injury and had initially been ruled out for the rest of the regular season.  Clearly, Siegenthaler, who logged nearly 20 minutes a night before being injured, will need more time to recover.  Meanwhile, Stein relays in a separate tweet that defenseman Brenden Dillon was eager to return to play today after exiting in the second period but was held back by team doctors.  Nonetheless, that’s an encouraging sign for his availability heading into Tuesday’s second game.  However, there was no update on center Cody Glass who exited the game after taking a slash from teammate Jacob Markstrom.

Wild Activate Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek; Reassign Two

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3:00 PM: Minnesota has made the activation of Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek official. Both players could have a chance to play as soon as Wednesday night’s game against San Jose. To make space for this move, the Wild have reassigned forwards Brendan Gaunce and Devin Shore to the minor leagues. Shore has been a frequent part of Minnesota’s lineup as of late, but has no scoring and a minus-two through his last five games. Gaunce hasn’t been in the lineup since March 25th and recorded his only point of the season – through 12 games – on March 22nd.

8:00 AM: The Wild could activate star winger Kirill Kaprizov and top matchup center Joel Eriksson Ek for tonight’s game against the Sharks “if today’s morning skate goes well,” Michael Russo of The Athletic reports. They won’t require a corresponding move for the latter’s activation, but they will for Kaprizov since his $9MM cap hit is on long-term injured reserve. They’re currently short $1.32MM in space and will need to remove two skaters from their active roster, likely meaning depth forwards Brendan Gaunce and Devin Shore will be on their way down to AHL Iowa.

Minnesota gets key reinforcements at a pivotal time. They’ve fallen behind the Blues and now sit in the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Wild still have a decent cushion, leading the Flames by four points with four games remaining, but Calgary has a game in hand. MoneyPuck still gives them 91% odds of outlasting the Flames and Canucks for the final berth, but having a pair of lineup pillars available undoubtedly boosts that number to a more certain degree.

The Wild have been without Kaprizov, still their third-place scorer, for over half the season. After dominating with 23-27–50 and a +21 rating through his first 34 games, he exited the lineup with a lower-body muscular issue in late December. He returned for three games in January, posting two assists and a minus-two rating, before aggravating the injury and opting for surgery.

That procedure was expected to keep him sidelined for at least four weeks. Instead, he’s been unavailable for over two months as Minnesota slipped from a top-three spot in the Central Division to fighting for their wild-card lives. Since Kaprizov went for his first extended absence around Christmas, the Wild are 21-19-3 while scoring 2.51 goals per game. Through their 35 prior contests, they were 21-10-4 while scoring 2.97 goals per game.

Of course, they’ve also been without the minute-munching Eriksson Ek for a good portion of that time. He’s been limited to 42 showings this season with multiple lower-body injuries, and his current one has kept him out since Feb. 22. The nagging issues have contributed to a down season offensively for Eriksson Ek, whose 0.57 points per game are his worst since the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign. They’ll also likely keep him out of the top 10 in Selke Trophy voting for the first time since 2020.

If they’re both fully healthy and the Wild secure a playoff berth, that dramatically changes Minnesota’s outlook. The Wild were one of the league’s best teams in the early going until injury issues derailed their season. They’ve gotten solid goaltending throughout from a resurgent Filip Gustavsson and remain one of the league’s staunchest defensive teams (2.31 xGA/60 per Natural Stat Trick, fifth in the NHL). Special teams, however, remain a significant concern and hinder their chances of an upset, even with Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek healthy. A matchup with the Jets in the first round and their league-best power play could prove futile with Minnesota’s penalty kill operating at just 72.7%, 30th in the league.

Nonetheless, even if one of Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek isn’t quite ready to return tonight, having this discussion now almost certainly ensures they’ll be in the Game 1 lineup for a first-round series. Minnesota hasn’t won a playoff series in the Kaprizov era and has lost seven straight series dating back to their first-round win in 2015.

Wild Brendan Gaunce, Devin Shore Clear Waivers

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3/31: Both Wild forwards have cleared waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. They will now be eligible to be assigned to the minor leagues.

3/30: The Minnesota Wild have placed depth forwards Brendan Gaunce and Devin Shore on waivers per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Both players have bounced between rosters all season long. Shore was placed on, and cleared, waivers in each of September, December, January, and February – while Gaunce was successfully waived in September.

While he’s often been the first cut when Minnesota needs roster flexibility, Shore has spent the large majority of his season on the NHL roster. He’s stepped into 51 games on the year and recorded five points, six penalty minutes, and a minus-six from Minnesota’s fourth line. Shore has also been returned to the minors for 14 games on the year. He has a productive 10 points, six penalty minutes, and minus-11 in those appearances. While he hasn’t found much scoring at either level, this year has marked the most Shore has played in one NHL season since 2016-17 and 2017-18 – when he played through two full seasons with the Dallas Stars. Those were career years for Shore, giving him the platform to score a career-high 33 and 32 points respectively. He’s fallen into the role of journeyman depth forward in the years since, playing through tenures with the Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, and Seattle Kraken.

While Shore has provided Minnesota with a veteran presence in their extra forward slot, Gaunce has found his footing at the top of the AHL Iowa Wild lineup. He has 15 goals and 29 points in 35 AHL games this season, good for fifth on the roster in scoring. Those appearances have been intercut with 12 games in the NHL lineup, though Gaunce has only tallied one assist, four penalty minutes, and a minus-four at the top flight. He’s bounced between the NHL and AHL over the last three years, after a quick pit stop in Sweden’s SHL in the shortened 2020-21 campaign. He scored a career-high 39 points in 46 AHL games last season and has 29 points in 189 career NHL games.

Of note, neither player will be able to rejoin the NHL should they be claimed off waivers due to the post-Deadline roster rules . They will instead need to be assigned to their new club’s minor-league program.

Minnesota Wild Recall Liam Öhgren, Devin Shore, Dylan Ferguson

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10:42 a.m.: The Wild confirmed the recalls in a team announcement and also said they’ve summoned goaltender Dylan Ferguson to serve as a practice exception until Filip Gustavsson returns to the club following his performance for Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Ferguson won’t count against the 23-player limit, which is good since they have a full complement with Öhgren and Shore back up. He’ll return to the minors before the weekend.

8:00 a.m.: With many players returning to practice today for their respective teams, a few previously reassigned before the 4 Nations Face-Off break will be recalled. The Minnesota Wild are starting early, as the AHL transactions page confirms they’ve recalled forwards Liam Öhgren and Devin Shore from their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild.

There was no question the Wild would need to recall a pair of forwards. Aside from the few players on the roster still participating in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, injuries to Kirill Kaprizov and Jakub Lauko will likely prohibit them from skating while Ryan Hartman is dealing with the ramifications of a 10-game suspension.

Neither Öhgren nor Shore has been a game-changing talent for Minnesota this year but they’ve each played more than a handful of games. Öhgren has scored one goal and four points in 19 games for the Wild this season averaging 11:02 of ice time per game. The former 19th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft is only six games away from officially registering his rookie campaign.

While Öhgren has typically played on the team’s third line when on the roster, Shore has been limited to a fourth-line role. He’s scored one goal and three points in 34 games this year averaging 8:28 of ice time per night. Minnesota sent Shore through waivers shortly before the 4 Nations Face-Off started giving them a fair amount of flexibility with him for the foreseeable future.

Minnesota Wild Reassign Devin Shore

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Feb. 12th: Indirectly confirming yesterday’s report, the Wild announced they’ve reassigned Shore to AHL Iowa meaning he’s successfully cleared waivers. Depending on the recovery timelines for Kirill Kaprizov and Jakub Lauko, Minnesota will likely need another forward or two when play resumes on February 22nd.

Feb. 11th: According to a report from PuckPedia, the Minnesota Wild have placed depth forward Devin Shore on waivers to reassign him to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild. It is the fourth time the Wild have placed Shore on waivers this season.

Minnesota chose to waive Shore just six days before he would have required them for reassignment. With his next NHL game not scheduled until February 22nd, the move presented a timely opportunity for the Wild to manage their salary cap.

Despite the four waiver placements, the 10-year NHL veteran has spent most of the year in Minnesota. He’s scored one goal and two assists in 34 games averaging 8:28 of ice time per night in a fourth-line role. His multiple passes through waivers have given him considerable action with AHL Iowa, scoring two goals and 10 points in 14 games this year.

Given his $775K salary, the transaction won’t offer significant cap savings, but the Wild deemed the move worthwhile. If he clears waivers over the next 24 hours, Minnesota could recall Shore on February 21 or 22, giving them another 30 days or 10 games on the active roster before requiring waivers again.

Latest On The Wild’s Injuries

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The Wild have not had a pleasant past few weeks. They haven’t had a fully healthy lineup since Nov. 10, and injuries have really come to the forefront recently. Cap restrictions forced them to transfer star winger Kirill Kaprizov to long-term injured reserve yesterday.

Things are beginning to turn around, albeit slowly. Top defenseman Brock Faber is expected to return to the lineup tomorrow in Nashville after missing four games with an upper-body injury, head coach John Hynes told NHL.com’s Jessi Pierce. He also confirmed that winger Jakub Lauko will play after being previously activated from LTIR on Thursday.

They’ll still remain without Kaprizov for their next two games, though, as neither he nor captain Jared Spurgeon will make their brief Central Division road trip, Hynes added. Kaprizov is eligible to come back off LTIR at any time after already missing the required time with his lower-body injury, while Spurgeon remains sidelined due to the lower-body injury he sustained on a slew foot from Predators forward Zachary L’Heureux on New Year’s Eve.

Stalwart defender Jonas Brodin is also staying home while he continues to nurse a lower-body injury and Marcus Johansson is unavailable after his recent concussion landed him on IR yesterday, so that makes four roster regulars, and impactful ones at that, sidelined for at least Minnesota’s next two games. All of their roster maneuvering allowed the club to recall forwards Brendan Gaunce, Liam Ohgren, and Devin Shore from AHL Iowa over the past 24 hours, per PuckPedia, who detailed how the order in which those transactions were executed affected their delicate salary cap situation. After the moves, they’re back to having ample breathing room with $7.45MM in their LTIR pool, although they’ll need to figure out how to reinstate Kaprizov when he’s ready to come back in the next week or so.

While the Wild have understandably dropped three of their last four games, they’re still in a battle for second in the Central Division with a 27-14-4 record. They’re a virtual playoff lock at a 96.5% chance and still have a 9.7% chance of winning their second division title in franchise history, per Hockey Reference.

While Gaunce, Ohgren and Shore bring a decent mix of veteran professional experience and, in Ohgren’s case, long-term top-six upside, they’ve combined for just one assist in 38 appearances this season. Each has averaged under 10 minutes per game and posted ghastly possession numbers, particularly in Gaunce’s case with a 29.2 CF% at even strength in five showings.

Wild Activate Jakub Lauko From Long-Term Injured Reserve

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The Wild are getting at least one piece of their forward lineup back this weekend against the Predators. The team announced they’ve activated winger Jakub Lauko off long-term injured reserve, assigning forwards Ben Jones and Devin Shore to AHL Iowa in corresponding transactions after they cleared waivers earlier in the week.

Lauko, 24, has been out of action for most of the past two months with a lower-body injury, believed to be a muscle strain in his groin. The Czech depth forward initially exited the lineup in late November and missed six games before returning. That stint in the lineup was short-lived, skating in three games before reaggravating the issue and landing on the shelf again. He last appeared on Dec. 14 against the Flyers.

Lauko missed 21 games overall due to the issue. He hasn’t significantly impacted the lineup, posting four points and a minus-six rating in 24 appearances while averaging 10 minutes per game. Yet that’s still a considerable upgrade from the poor possession play and non-existent point production both Jones and Shore were providing. His return should boost the Wild’s fourth line as the club looks to get out of a brief 1-3-0 skid.

Whether they’ll be able to ice a full fourth line against Nashville in two days is a different question. They’re down to exactly $775K in cap space after the activation and reassignments, only permitting the recall of one league-minimum salary for the game. Kirill Kaprizov isn’t expected to be ready to come off injured reserve, and Marcus Johansson is now expected to miss time after taking an elbow from Oilers superstar Connor McDavid in last night’s loss, head coach John Hynes told Jessi Pierce of NHL.com. That would mean they’d be playing a forward short, even with a recall.

They could end up with 18 skaters if star defender Brock Faber is ready to return from an upper-body injury or if they retroactively move Kaprizov to LTIR to free up cap space for an additional recall. The latter is doable, as he’s already missed the 24 days and 10 games required for an LTIR placement, so he’d be eligible to come off anytime.

Regardless, the versatile and energetic Lauko now gets a chance to jumpstart his game. Acquired from the Bruins for Vinni Lettieri last summer, he has eight goals and 21 points in 107 NHL games dating back to his debut with Boston in the 2022-23 campaign.

Wild’s Ben Jones, Devin Shore Clear Waivers

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Jan. 14: Jones and Shore cleared waivers, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Minnesota can now assign them to Iowa at will, although they haven’t done so yet.

Jan. 13: The Wild have placed forwards Ben Jones and Devin Shore on waivers with the intent to assign them to AHL Iowa, the team announced.

It’s good news for the Wild, who are likely freeing up roster space to activate star winger Kirill Kaprizov from injured reserve and depth piece Jakub Lauko from LTIR ahead of Wednesday’s matchup against the Oilers. Kaprizov has been skating on his own for the past few days, and general manager Bill Guerin told Michael Russo of The Athletic on Sunday that he was a possibility to play against Edmonton. Lauko has also been skating away from the team as he rehabilitates a lower-body muscle issue, Guerin said.

Jones and Shore have been on the Wild roster for the better part of the past two months, playing fill-in duty with Joel Eriksson Ek, Yakov Trenin and Mats Zuccarello all missing significant chunks of the schedule in addition to Kaprizov and Lauko. Both cleared waivers en route to beginning the season in Iowa, although Shore was also waived last month to give Minnesota roster and salary cap flexibility around the holiday break.

Those injuries have allowed Jones to become something of a fourth-line fixture in the second quarter of the season, but that experiment hasn’t gone particularly well. The 25-year-old had only two games of NHL experience prior to his November call-up, and that’s shown in his play.

Through 25 appearances, Jones has yet to get on the scoresheet and has a minus-three rating with 10 PIMs. He’s averaged just 8:29 per game and has posted gnarly possession numbers, only controlling 39.9% of shot attempts at even strength. He’s been a physical factor, posting 11 blocks and 49 hits, but hasn’t shown upside elsewhere in his game.

The former seventh-round pick of the Golden Knights will return to a more comfortable role on the farm, where he had 12 points in 14 games with Iowa in the early going. The 6’0″, 187-lb pivot is coming off a 21-goal season with the Calgary Wranglers while under contract with the Flames, the second time in his professional career that he’s hit 20 goals in an AHL season.

Shore, the far more experienced of the duo, hasn’t been much better. He’s got one assist and a minus-four mark through 24 appearances, averaging 8:18 as Minnesota’s usual fourth-line left wing over the past couple of months.

Now in his 10th NHL season, Shore has 140 points in 467 career games but hasn’t hit double-digit points in a season since recording 11 in 49 games with the Oilers in 2021-22. He began the season as an alternate captain in Iowa, posting a pair of goals and eight assists for 10 points through 14 games.

Both may remain on the NHL roster if they clear waivers and Kaprizov and Lauko aren’t yet ready to return, but if they’re sent down within 30 days and play fewer than 10 games, they won’t need waivers again upon doing so.

Minnesota Wild Recall David Jiříček

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Jan. 9: Shore is back up to the NHL today, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports. His reassignment was part of optimizing the Wild’s cap space when transferring Jakub Lauko to long-term injured reserve yesterday. Shore is expected to play against the Avalanche on Thursday.

Jan. 8: The injury bug continues to affect the names and faces on the blue line for the Minnesota Wild. In another roster move to bring a defenseman to the NHL level, the Wild announced they’ve recalled defenseman David Jiříček to the active roster and sent forward Devin Shore to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild.

The need for another defenseman was created last night when Brock Faber left the game due to an upper-body injury. Given that defensive prospect Carson Lambos was already filling in as a depth defenseman for the injured Jared Spurgeon, one of Lambos or Jiříček is expected to debut with the Wild tomorrow night against the Colorado Avalanche.

It’s more insult to injury for a Minnesota roster that has struggled through injuries this season. In just over a week, they’ve lost two out of their top three defensemen to injury and will have to navigate their upcoming schedule with a diminished blue line. Still, the Wild remain undefeated in the new year and are 6-4-0 in their last 10 contests.

Given that Jiříček is one of two healthy right-handed shooting defensemen on the roster he’ll likely get the nod over Lambos in tomorrow’s game. Still, it could be a toss-up between the two blue liners given their play in the AHL this season.

Before being acquired by the Wild from the Columbus Blue Jackets in one of this season’s biggest trades, Jiříček scored two goals and three points in four games for the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters one year after registering seven goals and 19 points in 29 games with the same team.

His time in Iowa has not been as fruitful. Jiříček has only tallied two assists in 11 games with the AHL Wild. It’s likely more of a testament to Iowa’s playstyle rather than a step backward in Jiříček’s development given the team only has one defenseman with 10 or more points this year.

Returning to the AHL is Shore, who has been a bright spot for Iowa this year. He’s scored two goals and 10 points in 14 games as an assistant captain for AHL Iowa while tallying one assist in 21 games in Minnesota averaging 8:21 of ice time per game.

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