Injury Notes: Wild, McDonagh, Huberdeau
The Minnesota Wild could have a few reinforcements for their upcoming game tonight against the Detroit Red Wings. According to NHL reporter Jessi Pierce, Zach Bogosian, Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Marcus Johansson all took part in Minnesota’s practice this morning.
Pierce went on to indicate that both Eriksson Ek and Johansson could return to the lineup tonight. Unfortunately, Bogosian and Boldy will remain on the sidelines. In the latter’s defense, given the stipulations of putting a player on the injured reserve, Boldy would be ineligible for tonight’s contest regardless of how he feels.
The Wild could certainly use the help. After having an outstanding record through November and December, Minnesota has stalled of late, managing a 4-4-2 record in January. If Eriksson Ek and Johansson return tonight, the Wild would have two of their top four scorers back in the lineup.
Additional injury notes:
- The long-awaited return of Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh is on the horizon. According to team insider Erik Erlendsson, McDonagh’s recovery timeline has been upgraded to day-to-day, and head coach Jon Cooper guaranteed that he would play before the upcoming Olympic break. Due to varying injuries, the Lightning have been without McDonagh for most of the 2025-26 campaign. The 16-year veteran has registered four goals and eight points in 18 games on the year, averaging 20 minutes of ice time per game.
- According to Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg, winger Jonathan Huberdeau will return to the lineup tomorrow night for the Calgary Flames. The former Calder Trophy winner missed the Flames’ most recent game due to a lower-body injury.
Injury Updates: Wild, Ristolainen, Jones
The injuries just keep piling up for Minnesota. Already missing several key regulars, Marcus Johansson can now be added to the list as Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (Twitter links) that the veteran is among the list of players who aren’t with the team on their three-game road trip that began this afternoon. The 35-year-old is dealing with a lower-body injury. Johansson has had a resurgent season, notching 13 goals and 21 assists in 46 games, matching his point total from 2024-25 in 26 fewer appearances. With his absence, the Wild are now without their entire second line for this trip.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- Also from Russo’s note, the injury to winger Matt Boldy that landed him on IR is a nagging issue that head coach John Hynes feels will only keep him out of the lineup for a week or two. Boldy is Minnesota’s top goalscorer with 27 on the season and is only one point behind Kirill Kaprizov for the team lead in points, earning him a spot on Team USA for the Olympics. With this short timeline for a return, he should be good to go for that event.
- Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen will miss at least the next four games as he has been ruled out of action through their upcoming road trip, relays Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia (Twitter link). The veteran has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury. Injuries have limited Ristolainen to only 13 games this season. He’s averaging just under 21 minutes per night of action when in the lineup but the lack of availability certainly doesn’t help his value at a time the team is believed to be open to trading him.
- Earlier this week, the Penguins assigned defenseman Caleb Jones to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning stint. Unfortunately, Jones suffered an upper-body injury in his first game in the minors, according to Inside AHL Hockey’s Tony Androckitis (Twitter link). As a result, he was out of the lineup on Friday. There’s no word yet on the severity of the injury. Jones remains on Pittsburgh’s active roster while on assignment to the minors but if he’s going to be out much longer, he’ll likely be recalled and placed on injured reserve.
Wild Expected To Activate Marcus Foligno From IR
Marcus Foligno will be back in the Wild lineup tonight versus the Capitals, head coach John Hynes told reporters (including Jessi Pierce of NHL.com). They don’t have a roster spot available to remove him from injured reserve, so one of their many banged-up skaters will have to take his place on IR. That will likely be defenseman Jonas Brodin, who’s out tonight and has already missed two games with an undisclosed injury. Placing him on IR would only rule him out for tonight’s game; he’d be eligible to return Thursday against the Blue Jackets.
Foligno sustained a lower-body injury against the Blackhawks back on Nov. 26. He was listed as week-to-week and makes his return tonight with just one full practice under his belt, although that’s understandable given how many bodies Minnesota is missing from its forward group.
The 34-year-old leaves behind Vinnie Hinostroza and Mats Zuccarello on IR. On top of those two, Marcus Johansson sustained a lower-body injury in Sunday’s trouncing of the Bruins and is listed as day-to-day, Hynes said.
Foligno’s lower-body issue, plus an upper-body one that cost him one game earlier in the year, has limited him to 23 appearances this season. Long viewed as one of the better defensive wingers in the league, he always maintained enough point production to warrant consistent top-nine minutes.
That hasn’t been the case this year. He’s yet to score a goal and has just two assists.
He has 21 shots on goal and is bound to shed his poor shooting luck at some point, but his 0.91 shots on goal per game are still the lowest of his 15-year career. His average ice time of 13:07 per game is his lowest since the 2018-19 campaign, and he’s no longer featuring on Minnesota’s top penalty kill unit, losing that job to Matt Boldy.
Still, an experienced top-nine option is a boon to a Wild group that’s still rolling out names like Nicolas Aubé-Kubel, Ben Jones, and Tyler Pitlick in its bottom six, regardless of his offensive struggles this season. Those three have combined for only two points in 41 games.
Also missing from the Wild lineup tonight will be veteran rearguard Zach Bogosian, Hynes said. Like Johansson, he’s day-to-day with a lower-body injury he sustained against Boston.
Morning Notes: Hughes, Pitlick, Jiricek, Johansson
More information rolls in regarding the Vancouver Canucks’ trade negotiations involving defenseman Quinn Hughes. We now know that several teams were scared of parting with significant value due to the perception that Hughes is far from a guarantee to sign a long-term extension.
According to The Athletic’s Michael Russo, Hughes is keeping an “open mind” when it comes to re-upping with Minnesota on July 1st, 2026. Russo noted that Hughes believes the Wild have “an amazing core.” He also shared that Hughes is happy with how close the team is to Michigan, and for being the organization that actually stepped up to get him, regardless of his perceived hesitancy to sign an extension.
Now, unlike other teams, the Wild have more than six months to convince Hughes to sign immediately when eligible, and even longer if both sides are comfortable with him entering the 2026-27 season as a pending unrestricted free agent. They got off to a good start last night, beating the Boston Bruins by four goals, with Hughes scoring his first goal with the team in the third period.
Additional morning notes:
- Likely because they’ve added forward Samuel Poulin to their AHL roster, the Bakersfield Condors connected with the Rockford IceHogs on an AHL trade yesterday. According to an announcement from Rockford, the Condors have traded forward Rem Pitlick to the IceHogs for defenseman Tyson Feist. Rem, cousin of Tyler Pitlick, is a veteran of 132 NHL contests, scoring 21 goals and 54 points. Meanwhile, Feist has only played in the ECHL this season, scoring one goal and seven points in 14 games for the Indy Fuel.
- Back in Minnesota, there were a few negatives that came from last night’s contest. Both defenseman David Jiříček and forward Marcus Johansson left yesterday’s game with lower-body injuries. According to Joe Smith of The Athletic, the Wild didn’t offer any updates for either player during the post-game media availability. Minnesota doesn’t play again until tomorrow, so more information should be provided before then.
Wild Sign Marcus Johansson To One-Year Contract
The Minnesota Wild have signed veteran forward Marcus Johansson to a one-year, $800K contract for the 2025-26 season. The deal was first reported by Michael Russo of The Athletic. Johansson was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, after concluding a two-year, $4MM contract signed with Minnesota in 2023.
Johansson maintained his modest scoring through his last two years in Minnesota. He posted 11 goals, 34 points, and a minus-seven in 72 games this season – all a slight improvement over the 11 goals, 30 points, and minus-15 he posted in 78 games last year. Johansson also contributed two assists in five postseason games this year, marking his third-consecutive postseason appearance with two points – though he’s alternated appearances in and out of the playoffs.
Johansson will continue onto his 16th NHL season with this deal. He’ll also be set up to reach his 1,000th career game in Minnesota – currently sat just 17 games back from the milestone. Reaching that mark will put a pin on what’s been a tremendous career for the versatile Johansson. He was originally drafted 24th-overall in the 2009 NHL Draft, and has carried his slick skating and role-filling talents through tenures with six different clubs.
His career-year stands as the 2016-17 season, when Johansson posted 24 goals and 58 points while appearing in all 82 games of the Capitals’ season. It’s the only season he has played in every game. Johansson moved out of Washington in the following summer, and has stayed on a steady but manageable decline ever since. He’s routinely rivaled 10 goals and 30 points through each of the last eight seasons, fighting through injury and shifting lineup roles. His only return to scoring prowess came back in Washington in 2022-23. After joining the team partway through the prior season, Johansson was able to pot 28 points in 60 games before another mid-season move – but then rounded out his year with 18 points in 20 games with Minnesota, good for 46 combined points on the year.
Johansson isn’t likely to challenge those scoring heights in what could be his final season in the NHL. Instead, he’ll likely return to a middling role on the Wild’s third-line, where he’ll offer a veteran presence and shifty backup in the case of injuries.
Team Sweden Announces 2025 World Championship Roster
Team Sweden has announced their roster for the upcoming 2025 IIHF World Championships. The ‘Tre Konor’ will look to finish higher than third place in the international tournament for the first time since 2018.
The team will look similar to the one Sweden brought to the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. Filip Forsberg, Lucas Raymond, and Mika Zibanejad will reprise their roles as Sweden’s top forwards, while Rasmus Andersson and Jonas Brodin will lead the defensive core.
Unfortunately, the team will be without forward William Eklund for the tournament due to offseason wrist surgery. Sweden is expected to announce Eklund’s replacement in the coming days. The rest of Team Sweden’s roster is as follows:
F Mikael Backlund (Flames)
F Anton Bengtsson (Rögle BK)
F Leo Carlsson (Ducks)
F Christoffer Ehn (Linköping HC)
F Filip Forsberg (Predators)
F Max Friberg (Frölunda HC)
F Jesper Frödén (ZSC Lions)
F Marcus Johansson (Wild)
F Elias Lindholm (Bruins)
F Isac Lundeström (Ducks)
F Lucas Raymond (Red Wings)
F Alexander Wennberg (Sharks)
F Mika Zibanejad (Rangers)
D Rasmus Andersson (Flames)
D Jonas Brodin (Wild)
D Gabriel Carlsson (EV Zug)
D Simon Edvinsson (Red Wings)
D Adam Larsson (Kraken)
D Marcus Pettersson (Canucks)
G Samuel Ersson (Flyers)
G Jacob Markström (Devils)
G Arvid Söderblom (Blackhawks)
Central Notes: Heiskanen, Johansson, Wiesblatt
Before the Round One matchup between the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars shifted to Denver for Games 3 and 4, there was some belief defenseman Miro Heiskanen would return to the Stars lineup in one of those contests, given he was traveling with the team. Heiskanen was not activated, and that will not change this evening either.
According to Brien Rea of Victory+, it’s already been confirmed that Heiskanen won’t return for Game 5 as the series moves back to American Airlines Center. Still, Heiskanen is considered on a day-to-day recovery timeline after already returning to the ice for practice, and should be back in the lineup any day now.
Fortunately, the series isn’t as lopsided as it should be for the Heiskanen-less Stars. Despite being outscored by a margin of six and having only had the lead for 62 seconds in the entire series, Dallas has still managed to keep the series split two games apiece.
Other Central notes:
- The Minnesota Wild could get a boost to their forward core for an important Game 5. According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, Wild winger Marcus Johansson has returned to practice after missing Game 4 with a lower-body injury. Still, Johansson wasn’t as impactful as some of his peers through the first three games of the series, as he only tallied one assist while averaging 13:54 of ice time per game.
- The AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, affiliated with the NHL’s Nashville Predators, have inked a forward to a rare three-year AHL contract beginning in the 2025-26 AHL season. Oasiz Wiesblatt, brother of Ozzy Wiesblatt, is joining the club from the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers. The younger Wiesblatt recently finished his fourth full major junior season as captain of the Tigers, scoring 36 goals and 103 points in 66 games.
Central Notes: Johansson, Heiskanen, Back, Colton
Minnesota Wild winger Marcus Johansson was not in the lineup for today’s 4-3 overtime loss against the Golden Knights, the team announced prior to the game. Johansson left in the third period of game three with an undisclosed injury and did not return to the contest. Prior to today’s game, head coach John Hynes did not provide an update on his injury or a potential timeline for his return.
With Johansson out, veteran Vinnie Hinostroza was added to the lineup and recorded 11:57 of total ice time. Johansson, a fixture in the Wild’s top six, registered 34 points in 72 games on the season. The 34-year-old also brings a wealth of playoff experience to the table, playing in 112 career playoff games with 46 points. His return would be big for the Wild as the series is now tied 2-2.
Elsewhere in the Central Division:
- Dallas Stars defender Miro Heiskanen will not play in tonight’s game four matchup against the Avalanche, per Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas News. Heiskanen recently rejoined practice first time since sustaining his knee injury in late January, and Friday’s practice was the closest he’s been to a full participant, Assimakopoulos notes. In 50 games on the season, the 25-year-old scored five goals and 25 points from the point. He’s also showcased an ability to elevate his game in the playoffs, including last season where he produced six goals and 16 points in 19 games. Coach Pete DeBoer also noted that forward Oskar Back will be a game-time decision after suffering an injury in game three. If he is unable to go, the door will be open for Mavrik Bourque to slot back into the lineup.
- Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar confirmed that forward Ross Colton is making progress with his lower body injury, but that Colton will remain out of the lineup for the foreseeable future, per Jesse Montano of Guerilla Sports. Colton sustained his injury in game one of the series and has not been able to dress since. In 61 regular season games this season, Colton produced 16 goals in 29 points.
Wild Recall Liam Öhgren And Cameron Crotty
Minnesota Wild President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin announced today the team has recalled forward Liam Öhgren and defender Cameron Crotty from Iowa on an emergency basis, per a team announcement. The Wild will face-off against the Dallas Stars on Monday, and forward Marcus Foligno (who has missed three straight contests) remains day-to-day as he works his way back from an upper-body injury.
Öhgren was just reassigned to the AHL yesterday after being recalled by the Wild under an emergency loan to fill in for a sick Marcus Johansson who couldn’t suit up in a recent game against the Seattle Kraken. Öhgren has played in 35 games for the Wild this season, recording five points (including a goal in the game against the Kraken). The 20-year-old was Minnesota’s first round selection in the 2022 draft. While he’s struggled to make an offensive impact with the Wild in limited action this season, he has posted 28 points in 29 games in the AHL on the year.
Crotty has spent the entire year in Iowa, where he has registered zero goals and eight assists in 56 games. Originally a third-round selection by the Arizona Coyotes, Crotty has laced up in 275 career AHL games but has only skated in one NHL contest – a cup of coffee with the Coyotes during the 2023-24 season. Crotty, 25, also played three years at Boston University.
The Wild did receive good news with the return of defender Jonas Brodin, who played Saturday after being out of the lineup since Feb. 28 with a lower-body injury. Brodin has struggled with injuries throughout the season, suiting up in just 39 games. But when healthy, the 31-year-old has recorded 19 points and a plus-11 rating. And in addition to Brodin’s return, the Wild are expecting superstar Kirill Kaprizov to start skating as soon as this upcoming week, per The Athletic’s Michael Russo. The goal, according to Russo, would be to get Kaprizov a few regular season games to knock some rust off ahead of the playoffs. The return of Kaprizov would no doubt spark Minnesota’s sputtering offensive. Despite currently finding themselves in the top wild card position in the west, the Wild have only scored 195 goals on the season and are the only Western Conference team currently in playoff position with a negative goal differential on the year.
Wild Activate Jonas Brodin, Marcus Johansson
As expected, the Wild announced they’ve activated defenseman Jonas Brodin from long-term injured reserve and winger Marcus Johansson from standard IR ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Bruins. Minnesota assigned forward Ben Jones to AHL Iowa in a corresponding transaction to open a required space on the active roster.
Brodin and Johansson were full participants in practice Monday, leading most to assume they’d be in tonight’s lineup. The former has missed 12 games with a lower-body injury sustained against the Hurricanes on Jan. 7, while Johansson sat out the last eight with a concussion he suffered on an elbow from Oilers star Connor McDavid on Jan. 15.
Their returns are key reinforcements for the Wild amid Kirill Kaprizov‘s LTIR stint following lower-body surgery last week and a 10-game suspension to winger Ryan Hartman handed down yesterday by the Department of Player Safety. In the interim, Minnesota will have plenty of cap flexibility, with Kaprizov fueling a $9.02MM LTIR pool. However, roster management will be an issue, as Hartman still takes up a spot during his suspension.
Brodin likely returns to a top-four role besides captain Jared Spurgeon following his third multi-game absence of the season. He missed a pair of contests in November with an upper-body injury before sitting out another eight with a similar injury weeks later.
The Wild went 5-7-0 without Brodin in their last 12 games and have a 12-10-0 without his services on the season. When healthy, the 31-year-old has the best offensive campaign of his 13-year career. He has 16 points through 31 appearances for a career-high 0.51 points per game, averaging north of 23 minutes per game for the second straight season and anchoring the team’s top penalty-kill unit.
He aims to stabilize a Minnesota defense that has faltered since the calendar flipped to 2025. Since New Year’s, they have allowed 3.20 goals against per game, ranking 26th out of 32 teams. Similarly, their 31.3 shots against per game rank 28th.
It’s not time to hit the panic button in the State of Hockey yet. They still have a two-point cushion on the Avalanche for third place in the Central Division with a game in hand, and Hockey Reference still gives them a 97.1% chance of making the playoffs. But it’s been ugly when they’ve lost – four of their seven Ls since the beginning of January have been by at least four goals.
While Johansson hasn’t had the offensive impact they hoped for this year, he’s still an upgrade over most of their depth options and will take pressure off other overtaxed wingers in Kaprizov’s and Hartman’s absence. The 15-year veteran is averaging 16 minutes per game this season and has five goals and 11 assists in 44 games. He’s shooting at a career-low 7.4% rate but posts decent possession metrics, with a 48.5 CF% and +2.1 expected rating at even strength.
Johansson will skate at left wing on a line with Marcus Foligno and Marco Rossi, Joe Smith of The Athletic reports. He’s also likely to continue seeing second powerplay unit duties as he has for most of the year.
Jones, 25, returns to Iowa after being recalled last week following the news of Kaprizov’s surgery. He was only rostered as an extra forward and did not play in any of the Wild’s three games since being added to the roster.
He’s still looking for his first NHL point, failing to produce any offense across 26 appearances throughout the year. While he’s been a non-factor in the NHL, he’s been a top-six contributor for Iowa with 14 points in 20 games. He’s in the first season of a two-year, two-way commitment he signed as a free agent last summer.