Minnesota Wild Sign Vinni Lettieri, Jake Lucchini
The Minnesota Wild have announced the signing of two forwards: Vinni Lettieri and Jake Lucchini. Each player signed a two-way deal with a $775k NHL cap hit. Lettieri’s deal is of a two-year term with a $500k AHL salary, while Lucchini’s is a one-year pact with a $300k AHL salary.
This is a significant investment by the Wild in their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild. Iowa had a middling season in 2022-23, losing in the AHL’s qualifying round. That led the Wild to part ways with their AHL head coach, Tim Army, and now has led to them signing two accomplished AHL scorers.
Lettieri, 28, is a local Minnesota product who was a four-year regular as a Minnesota Golden Gopher. He’s been a quality AHLer since his first full season in the league, and scored 49 points in 48 games for the Providence Bruins last season. He’ll likely be expected to be among Iowa’s top scorers, especially if top prospect Marco Rossi finally graduates and establishes himself as a full-time NHLer.
Lucchini, 28, is like Lettieri an established AHL top-six forward. He’s scored 104 points over the last two AHL campaigns and this past season earned 11 NHL games with the Ottawa Senators. They’ll each be among Iowa’s top scorers at the end of the season, most likely, and will also provide solid competition for depth lineup spots at Wild training camp.
Jake Lucchini Clears Waivers
Jan 18: Lucchini has cleared waivers and was assigned to the minor leagues.
Jan 17: The Ottawa Senators have placed Jake Lucchini on waivers today according to Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets, which would allow them to return him to the minor leagues. The depth forward already cleared earlier this season, but played his 11th game of the year last night, meaning his status has reset.
Lucchini, 27, received his first taste of NHL action this season, after toiling in the minor leagues since 2018. Stops in Wilke-Barre/Scranton and Laval didn’t go very well, but the undrafted center exploded last year for the Belleville Senators, scoring 20 goals and 51 points in 72 games. After starting this season on an even better pace, he has managed to carve out a small role in the Ottawa depth chart.
Though he likely won’t be an impact player for them, Lucchini will probably see some more NHL action at some point down the road.
The bigger implication here is that Joshua Norris could be ready to return for the Senators. The 23-year-old center set a career-high with 35 goals in just 66 games for the team last season, but has suited up just five times this year. After missing several months, his return would be a huge boost for an Ottawa team just trying to build their program and stay competitive. The playoffs may not be possible – they currently sit 19-21-3 – but development for their young players could easily lead to more success a year from now.
Senators Recall Jake Lucchini, Reassign Dillon Heatherington
Dec 30, 11:18 am: Ottawa has returned Heatherington to the minors, signaling that fan favorite Artem Zub could be close to a return to the lineup.
Dec 27, 9:51 am: The Senators have brought back some extra depth as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled defenseman Dillon Heatherington and winger Jake Lucchini from Belleville of the AHL.
Heatherington should be used to the frequent shuffling by now as this is his third recall of the month and fourth of the season overall. Despite the recalls, the 27-year-old has only suited up with Ottawa once this year. He has spent the bulk of his time with Belleville where he has five points in 19 games.
As for Lucchini, he made his NHL debut earlier this month against Montreal. The 27-year-old has been quite productive in the minors this season with 23 points in 25 games after putting up 51 points with Belleville last season.
The recalls come on the heels of some injury news as head coach D.J. Smith told TSN 1200 (Twitter link) that winger Tyler Motte has a broken finger, Rourke Chartier has an upper-body injury, and Erik Brannstrom has a lower-body issue. As a result, Heatherington and Lucchini might be a little more than just spare players this time around.