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Kyle Rau

Minnesota Signs Kyle Rau, Andrew Hammond To Extensions

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July 27: Rau’s deal has been officially announced by the Wild, confirming the terms reported yesterday.

July 26: The Athletic’s Michael Russo is reporting that the Minnesota Wild have re-signed forward Kyle Rau to a one-year, two-way contract extension. The deal carries the league minimum average annual value of $750,000 and will pay him $300,000 per year at the minor-league level with $350,000 in guaranteed money. CapFriendly is also reporting that they’ve re-signed netminder Andrew Hammond to a one-year/two-way deal, paying the ’Hamburglar’ $200,000 at the minor-league level with $250,000 in guaranteed money.

Rau’s been the definition of “good solider” ever since joining the Wild organization ahead of the 2017-18 campaign. After being drafted 91st overall by the Florida Panthers in 2011, Rau signed with the Wild in free agency after not being issued a qualifying offer by the Panthers. A former captain at the University of Minnesota, Rau’s been one of the best players for Minnesota’s AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild. With depth stretched thin this past season, though, Rau spent the entirety of the year up with the Wild, either in the lineup or on the team’s taxi squad. He mustered just two assists in 14 contests, however, and will likely return to a scoring role in Iowa next season.

For Hammond, this contract extension gives him a chance to play his first game as a member of the Minnesota Wild organization. He was signed prior to 2020-21 to serve as the team’s taxi squad netminder after Alex Stalock was placed on LTIR. After Kaapo Kahkonen cemented himself in the NHL and Stalock became healthy, Stalock was claimed on waivers by the Edmonton Oilers, meaning that Hammond would stay on the taxi squad without getting the chance to play in Iowa. And since Kahkonen and Cam Talbot maintained their health throughout the season, Hammond never got game action with the big club, either. While the days of him stealing games at the NHL level are long gone, Hammond still remains as a viable starting option in the AHL with the option for some fringe starts in case of injury with Minnesota next year.

Jason Cotton, Kyle Rau Placed On Waivers

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April 7: Both players have cleared waivers. Rau can now be assigned to the taxi squad, while Cotton will see his contract terminated.

April 6: Another day, another two players on waivers. The Carolina Hurricanes and Minnesota Wild have placed Jason Cotton and Kyle Rau on waivers respectively, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. Cotton, who is waiver-exempt and playing in the minor leagues, is likely on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination.

Cotton, 26, signed a one-year contract with the Hurricanes last spring after his college career came to an end, but has seen mostly the ECHL this season. The 6’3″ winger has six points in 17 games for the Fort Wayne Komets and is unlikely to ever see time with the Hurricanes. A termination would make him an unrestricted free agent and allow him to pursue other opportunities.

Rau meanwhile has been a part-time NHL player for the Wild this season, following several excellent minor league campaigns. The 28-year-old has played in ten games for Minnesota, meaning his waiver clock needed to be reset if they wanted to move him back to the taxi squad or minor leagues. At this point, Rau almost certainly won’t be claimed given he has scored just six points in 52 NHL games.

Mathew Dumba Placed On Injured Reserve

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The long list of absentees continues to grow for Minnesota as defenseman Mathew Dumba has been placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, notes Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.  That means he will be out for at least the next four games including tonight’s matchup against Colorado.  Head coach Dean Evason indicated that there’s no timetable for his return while acknowledging it doesn’t look good.

Dumba’s absence is a tough blow to the Wild’s back end as he has been a key part of their top four for several years now.  After a quiet 2019-20 season offensively, he is off to a better start this year with three goals through his first nine games; the rest of Minnesota’s defenders have just one combined.

Meanwhile, Evason is hopeful that Marcus Johansson’s undisclosed injury won’t keep him out for long although he isn’t in the lineup tonight.  Goaltender Alex Stalock and winger Mats Zuccarello are also injured with the latter being transferred to LTIR to accommodate today’s taxi squad recalls of wingers Gerald Mayhew and Kyle Rau plus defenseman Luke Johnson.  Will Bitten and Mason Shaw were added to the taxi squad in corresponding moves, per CapFriendly.

43 Players Placed On Waivers

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As teams begin to make their final camp decisions with the 2020-21 season getting started this week, the ramifications are apparent in today’s waiver wire group. All nine players from Saturday’s waivers cleared, but that is less likely to occur Sunday with a much longer list, including some more notable names. The following players have been placed on waivers today:

Buffalo Sabres
D Brandon Davidson
F Steven Fogarty
F C.J. Smith
G Dustin Tokarski

Calgary Flames
G Louis Domingue
F Byron Froese
F Justin Kirkland
D Alex Petrovic
F Buddy Robinson

Colorado Avalanche
F Kiefer Sherwood

Edmonton Oilers
F Adam Cracknell
F Seth Griffith

Florida Panthers
G Philippe Desrosiers
F Scott Wilson

Los Angeles Kings
D Daniel Brickley
F Boko Imama

Minnesota Wild
D Matt Bartekowski
D Louie Belpedio
F Joseph Cramarossa
F Gabriel Dumont
G Andrew Hammond
F Luke Johnson
F Gerald Mayhew
D Dakota Mermis
D Ian McCoshen
F Kyle Rau

Montreal Canadiens
F Brandon Baddock
F Alex Belzile
F Joseph Blandisi
F Laurent Dauphin
D Noah Juulsen
G Charlie Lindgren
D Gustav Olofsson
D Xavier Ouellet
F Jordan Weal

New York Islanders
F Joshua Ho-Sang
F Mason Jobst

Ottawa Senators
D Maxime Lajoie

Pittsburgh Penguins
D Kevin Czuczman
F Josh Currie
F Frederick Gaudreau
G Maxime Lagace
D Zach Trotman

Among the names likely to receive attention on the wire are a trio of intriguing young players. Defensemen Noah Juulsen and Maxime Lajoie and forward Josh Ho-Sang have all seen NHL action in the past and have shown promise but for different reasons are now available to claim. Juulsen in particular looked like a long-term permanent piece on the Montreal blue line, but vision issues brought on by head injuries knocked him out of the 2018-19 season after 21 games with the Habs and limited him to just 13 AHL games in 2019-20. The Canadiens clearly want to see him get in some game action before returning him to the NHL roster, but another club may have more faith in the young defenseman, who allegedly is back at full strength. After 56 games with the Ottawa Senators in 2018-19, including a hot scoring start, Lajoie was somewhat inexplicably reduced to just six games with the team this past season. A versatile all-around defenseman who has already shown in a small sample size that he can hack it in the NHL, Lajoie could certainly draw interest from a team more willing to give him another chance. Ho-Sang, a first-round pick of the Islanders back in 2014, is on the outs with his club. A future in New York seems non-existent for a player whose effort and attitude have been called into question. His limited action last season also doesn’t help his case.  Yet, Ho-Sang’s skill is apparent and that alone is a cause for pause for teams scouring the waiver wire.

As for a more polished possible pick-up, Jordan Weal leads the pack as a veteran of over 200 NHL games who has posted an 82-game scoring pace of 25 points or more in three straight seasons. Seth Griffith is also no stranger to being passed around via waivers and Frederick Gaudreau is coming off a career-high 55 NHL appearances last season and has strong scoring numbers throughout his AHL career.

This waiver group could also provide goalie depth for a team in need (see: New Jersey Devils). Andrew Hammond, Louis Domingue, Dustin Tokarski, and Charlie Lindgren are all veteran net minders with NHL experience who could provide some stability in net.

Central Notes: Wild, Husso, Stars

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Despite no start date set for next season, several Minnesota Wild players, who live locally, have begun skating once a week in Edina with skating and skills consultant Andy Ness, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo (subscription required). Among those participating are Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, Zach Parise, Marcus Foligno, Nick Bjugstad, Kyle Rau as well as former Wild players Luke Kunin, Eric Staal and Jason Zucker.

Russo said that according to sources, Suter, who was injured in Game 3 of the playoffs and missed Game 4 before being eliminated, looked good on the ice and should be fully ready for the start of the season. Reports also suggest that Bjugstad, who the Wild acquired from Pittsburgh earlier in the offseason and is recovering from back surgery, is progressing nicely.

  • Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes it’s very likely the St. Louis Blues stick with backup goaltender Ville Husso in net as opposed to going out and signing a veteran netminder for one more year. Husso, has never made an NHL appearance and would appear to be a candidate to struggle considering his limited experience at the NHL level. However, the scribe writes that besides being cheap, the team has a number of other young and talented goalies in the system and the team must learn sooner or later what Husso can offer them. He has been the No. 3 guy for a while now, but Jordan Binnington and Jake Allen never got injured, so Husso never got a chance to show what he can do at the top level.
  • The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf (subscription required) writes that the Dallas Stars are likely going to have to turn to some rookies to step in for Tyler Seguin and Ben Bishop who are both expected to miss a large chunk of next season. The team will likely turn to top prospects Jason Robertson and Ty Dellandrea to step in and fill roles, with Robertson a leading candidate to fill a top-six role while Seguin is out. The team will also have to depend on rookie Jake Oettinger to backup Anton Khudobin, while Bishop is on the mend. Seguin underwent right hip arthroscopy and labral repair, while Bishop underwent right knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus.

Minnesota Wild Re-Sign Matt Bartkowski, Kyle Rau

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The Minnesota Wild have re-signed two of their depth players, inking Kyle Rau and Matt Bartkowski to new one-year deals. Both contracts are two-way and worth $700K at the NHL level, though Bartkowski will earn a bit more in the minor leagues ($325K to Rau’s $275K salary).

Bartkwoski, 32, has 255 NHL games under his belt but has spent almost the entire last two seasons in the minor leagues with the Iowa Wild. The veteran defenseman scored 18 points in 55 games with Iowa this season after helping the team to their first playoff berth a year ago. That minor league veteran role is likely where he’ll spend all of 2020-21, unless the Minnesota roster is ravaged by injury.

Rau is in much the same boat, despite being nearly five years younger than Bartkowski. The undersized forward has been an excellent offensive weapon for Iowa since arriving in 2017 and scored 43 points in 51 games this season. Though he does have a little bit of NHL experience, his bread is buttered in the AHL where he has developed into one of the league’s most consistent scoring threats.

Neither player should figure much into the Minnesota roster next season, but are valuable depth piece in case of emergency.

Snapshots: Ryan, Soucy, USHL

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The Ottawa Senators bought out Bobby Ryan over the weekend, but that doesn’t mean his playing career is over. Interest has already started to emerge, with Kevin Kurz of The Athletic tweeting that the San Jose Sharks are one of “many teams” that have checked in on the free agent winger.

Ryan, 33, will be making more than $1.8MM in each of the next four years regardless of what his next contract is, meaning he may be willing to take a cheap deal to get back on the ice with a new organization.

  • The Minnesota Wild are still negotiating with Carson Soucy according to Michael Russo of The Athletic, one of their pending unrestricted free agents. Russo reports they are also speaking with Kyle Rau and Matt Bartkowski, and will be signing Hunter Warner to an AHL deal instead of issuing him a qualifying offer. With the Stanley Cup now awarded, front offices will be in overdrive trying to get new deals in place before free agency opens on October 9.
  • The USHL has released its schedule for the 2020-21 season, expected to start on November 5. Each team will be scheduled for 54 games over the 24-week season, which ends on April 24. The junior league is an important development step for many prospects and will try to navigate the season with a regional schedule.

Fifteen Players Placed On Waivers

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Another busy day on the waiver wire as 15 players were placed on waivers today, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). No players was claimed from yesterday’s group of 16 players, but with the regular season fast approaching, teams are continuing to make big decisions.

F Justin Bailey (Buffalo)
F Nicholas Baptiste (Buffalo)
F Riley Barber (Washington)
D Matt Bartkowski (Minnesota)
F Patrick Brown (Carolina)
F Erik Condra (Dallas)
G Andrew Hammond (Minnesota)
F Mike Liambas (Minnesota)
D Evan McEneny (Vancouver)
F Greg McKegg (Carolina)
F Michael Mersch (Dallas)
F Liam O’Brien (Washington)
F Kyle Rau (Minnesota)
F Matt Read (Minnesota)
F Anton Rodin (Anaheim) — placed on unconditional waivers (per Lavoie)
D Matt Tennyson (Buffalo)

There are a few interesting names, including the “Hamburglar,” who lost his bid to unseat goaltender Alex Stalock as the backup goaltender in Minnesota. Hammond hasn’t been a full-time backup since the 2015-16 season, but has shown flashes of brilliance when he’s hot, including getting into three playoff appearances for Colorado last year. One of those games, Game 5, Hammond stopped 44 of 45 shots in leading the Avalanche to a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. However, he wasn’t able to keep that success going as he yielded five goals the following game as Colorado was eliminated.

The 23-year-old Bailey is another interesting player who has worked his way up level-by-level and was on the border of a regular spot. Bailey has had three stints in the NHL now and last year’s was one of the more successful ones has he tallied three goals and four points in 12 games. Baptiste is another 23-year-old in Buffalo, who got an even longer look with the Sabres, 33 games, but only managed four goals in that time.

Read is another player with tons of experience. The 32-year-old had played quite a bit in the NHL before struggling to get playing time in Philadelphia, while the 25-year-old Rau posted 23 goals in Iowa last season in the AHL.

Minnesota Re-Signs Kyle Rau To A Two-Year Contract

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Minnesota has locked up one of its restricted free agents, announcing that they’ve re-signed winger Kyle Rau to a two-year, two-way contract.  The deal will pay $700K in the NHL and $275K at the minor league level in each season.  He would have been eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency as of this coming Sunday.

The 25-year-old spent most of 2017-18 at the minor league level where he collected 23 goals and 27 assists in 69 games to rank third on the team in scoring.  He also got into three regular season games with the Wild where he collected an assist while suiting up in one postseason contest as well.

Rau was a third-round pick (91st overall) of the Panthers back in 2011 and the majority of his NHL experience has come with them.  He played in 33 games with Florida over parts of two seasons before signing with Minnesota as an unrestricted free agent last July.  He will likely battle for an end-of-roster spot with the Wild in training camp and if he doesn’t crack their roster, he will become one of their first call-ups when injuries strike next season.

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