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Wild Notes: Leipold, Boldy, Middleton, Chisholm

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The owner of the Minnesota Wild, Craig Leipold, took part in a lengthy interview with Joe Smith and Michael Russo of The Athletic carrying a wide array of topics. Despite not making the playoffs last year and not advancing past the second round since 2003 Leipold assures Wild fans the organization is firmly committed to bringing a Stanley Cup to the State of Hockey.

Leipold shared that Minnesota was never interested in a full-scale rebuild and the organization is now in year two of a five-year plan to win a Stanley Cup. The major factors in this rebuild are extending star player Kirill Kaprizov next summer and bringing in some marquee free agents when they have more financial flexibility.

The longtime Wild owner touched on the importance of the inevitable negotiations with Kaprizov saying, “Am I convinced that we can (persuade him to stay)? No. Am I convinced that we will have a better offer than anybody else can do in the league? The answer is yes. I told you that this five-year plan is not a straight line. He’s the most important piece of our five-year plan. I think I can say that“.

Minnesota is still financially reeling from the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter from a few years ago with $14.74MM owed to the players this season. That number will drop to only $1.66MM next summer giving the Wild a ton of room to work with as the cap continues to rise.

Other Wild notes:

  • The injuries that limited forward Matt Boldy and defenseman Jacob Middleton during training camp will not extend into the regular season. Jessi Pierce of the NHL reports that both players are expected to be in the Wild lineup tomorrow for their regular season opener. Boldy was suffering from a lower-body injury and was originally designated as week-to-week on September 23rd before being downgraded to day-to-day on October 1st.
  • One player confirmed to not be in the lineup tomorrow night is defenseman Declan Chisholm who is battling an illness (X Link). There was no guarantee Chisholm would have been in the lineup if healthy as the team may have opted for Jonathon Merrill and Zach Bogosian on the bottom pairing regardless. Minnesota did use Chisholm more than he ever has in his career last season averaging 16:52 of ice time in 29 contests after being claimed on waivers.

Central Notes: Boldy, Middleton, Marino, Bjugstad, Kaiser, Barlow

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The Wild have upgraded winger Matt Boldy’s status from week-to-week to day-to-day, head coach John Hynes said Tuesday (via NHL.com’s Jessi Pierce). He hasn’t been ruled out of Friday’s preseason game against the Blackhawks, a strong sign he’ll be available when Minnesota opens its regular season against the Blue Jackets on Oct. 10.

Boldy was initially termed week-to-week on Sep. 23 with a lower-body ailment, but the team wasn’t concerned he’d miss any regular-season action. That appears to be the case. He’s been skating since Saturday.

His presence is crucial for the Wild. The 23-year-old set career highs last season with 40 assists and 69 points in 75 games, finishing second on the Wild’s 21st-ranked offense in scoring. With most of their bottom six either declining or overtaxed in offensive roles, he’s an irreplaceable source of secondary scoring behind Kirill Kaprizov, at least until Minnesota’s next wave of prospects hits their stride.

It’s not all good injury news for the Wild today, though. Defenseman Jacob Middleton is now day-to-day with bruising, Hynes added, but isn’t expected to miss their season opener, which is still nine days away.

There’s more from the Central Division:

  • The Utah Hockey Club may be without a top-four stalwart on defense for its first-ever game. John Marino’s availability for the season opener is now in doubt after missing all of training camp to date with an upper-body injury, per ALL Utah Hockey’s Craig Morgan. The team will know more about his timeline for a return next week, Morgan added, but for now, he hasn’t been ruled out of any action past then and is still day-to-day. They’re also not expecting center Nick Bjugstad back until Nov. 1, per Morgan. He’s out with an upper-body injury, but his absence isn’t new. He was already ruled doubtful for the start of the season last week.
  • Defenseman Wyatt Kaiser has been mysteriously absent from Blackhawks camp thus far, but that’ll end soon. The Blackhawks told the Chicago Sun-Times’ Ben Pope that an undisclosed concern popped up during his pre-camp physical that required “some invasive testing.” He’s passed all of them, though, and will begin ramping up to game speed. The 22-year-old is a strong candidate to land on the opening night roster after posting seven assists and an even rating in 32 games with Chicago last year.
  • Jets prospect Colby Barlow has officially requested a trade in the OHL from the Owen Sound Attack, Postmedia’s Greg Cowan reports. Winnipeg returned Barlow, the No. 18 overall pick in 2023, to Owen Sound on Sunday. The 19-year-old left winger had 40 goals in 50 games last year but recorded only 18 assists for 58 points, placing him fourth on the team in scoring overall. He won’t be reporting to Owen Sound’s camp at all, Cowan adds, so expect him to be on the move before the start of the OHL regular season.

Injury Updates: Karlsson, Boldy, Hakanpaa

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Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson won’t skate at all this weekend due to the upper-body injury that has kept him out of training camp so far, reports Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link).  That’s actually a step in the wrong direction as the veteran had been skating on his own earlier in the week.  Head coach Mike Sullivan stated that the team will assess the plan for him early next week.  At this point, it’s starting to look like the 34-year-old might not be available for the season opener which would be tough for them.  While Karlsson wasn’t able to duplicate his 2022-23 season numbers with Pittsburgh last year, he still collected 56 points in 82 games while logging over 24 minutes a night which will be hard to replace, even on a short-term basis.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Wild winger Matt Boldy skated today for the first time since being injured last weekend, notes Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). Head coach John Hynes indicated that he anticipates that the 23-year-old should be able to get several full practices in before the regular season gets underway.  Boldy is coming off a career-best 69 points in 75 games last season and will be counted to play a similar role as Minnesota looks to get back to the playoffs in 2024-25.
  • The Maple Leafs hope to have blueliner Jani Hakanpaa skate with the main group next week, relays Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link). Toronto agreed to terms with the 32-year-old on the opening day of free agency but concerns over the state of his knee resulted in the agreement being cut to one year and getting registered more than two months later.  Thus far, Hakanpaa had been skating with the minor league group, bringing into question his availability for the start of the season.  If he’s able to get in some practices with the main squad and perhaps a preseason game, he could be cleared for opening night.

Matt Boldy Out Week-To-Week With Lower-Body Injury

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Wild winger Matt Boldy is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury, the team announced Monday. He was an unexpected absence from today’s practice and there’s no clarity on when he sustained the injury. He’s expected to return by the end of training camp and should be ready for opening night, head coach John Hynes said (via Sarah McLellan of the Minnesota Star Tribune).

It’s tough news for Minnesota, which missed out on the playoffs last season for just the second time since 2012. Their poor record was largely due to injuries. Captain Jared Spurgeon was limited to just 16 games, while core pieces Jonas Brodin and Mats Zuccarello also missed significant chunks of the campaign.

Boldy, the No. 12 pick in the 2019 draft, has quickly grown into a core piece for the Wild in his own right. The 23-year-old set career highs last season with 40 assists and 69 points in 75 games, finishing second on the team in scoring behind Kirill Kaprizov.

He shoots the puck with aplomb – his 595 shots on goal rank 40th in the league since he made his NHL debut on Jan. 6, 2022. His strong offensive showing has been backed up by good possession metrics. The Wild have controlled 53.2% of shot attempts and 56.1% of expected goals with Boldy on the ice at even strength over the past three seasons, per Hockey Reference.

Boldy’s importance is magnified on a Wild roster that doesn’t have a ton of other high-skill scoring threats. A potential season-opening absence puts even more pressure on the likes of Kaprizov and the aging Zuccarello to put up points.

There will be a few options to take Boldy’s place in Minnesota’s top six if he’s not ready for opening night. The most intriguing is certainly Liam Ohgren, Minnesota’s first-rounder in 2022. The sharp-shooting Swede made his NHL debut at the tail end of last season, posting a goal and an assist in four games. He’s a likely candidate for a roster spot for no other reason than his cheap entry-level cap hit, but a short-term vacancy higher up in the lineup could be his to fill, at least to start. The 20-year-old had 12 goals and 19 points in 26 games while on loan to Sweden’s Färjestad BK last season.

Boldy is entering the second year of a seven-year, $49MM extension he signed in January 2023.

USA Hockey Announces Final 2024 World Championship Roster

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May 5: USA Hockey has invited nine more players to join their upcoming World Championship roster, including college hockey standouts Will Smith, Ryan Leonard, and Trey Augustine. The roster now carries 21 skaters and two goaltenders, one shy of the limit for both positions. There’s been no indication of who could round out Team USA’s roster, or if the team will look for additional hands at all.

It has also been announced that Dylan Larkin will no longer be able to participate due to injury, per Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Larkin has been removed from the official roster.

Apr. 24: USA Hockey announced the first 15 players named to their roster for the 2024 World Championship on Wednesday. The remaining eight-ish players will be announced before tournament action begins on May 10.

Only players on the 16 NHL teams who missed out on the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs are on the initial roster. Others will join in as their clubs are bounced from postseason action, even after the World Championship begins.

Early on, it’s clear that the promise of potential spots on the United States roster for the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Winter Olympics is making this a more well-attended World Championship than in years past. Some big-ticket stars like Canadiens sniper Cole Caufield, Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin, Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, and Blue Jackets stars Johnny Gaudreau and Zach Werenski highlight the initial roster. The full slate is as follows:

F Matt Boldy (Wild)
F Cole Caufield (Canadiens)
F Michael Eyssimont (Lightning)
F Joel Farabee (Flyers)
F Johnny Gaudreau (Blue Jackets)
F Kevin Hayes (Blues)
F Luke Kunin (Sharks)
F Ryan Leonard (Boston College, Capitals)
F Brock Nelson (Islanders)
F Shane Pinto (Senators)
F Will Smith (Boston College, Sharks)
F Brady Tkachuk (Senators)
F Trevor Zegras (Ducks)

D Luke Hughes (Devils)
D Seth Jones (Blackhawks)
D Jake Sanderson (Senators)
D Alex Vlasic (Blackhawks)
D Zach Werenski (Blue Jackets)
D Jeff Petry (Red Wings)
D Matthew Kessel (Blues)
D Michael Kesselring (Utah HC)

G Alex Lyon (Red Wings)
G Trey Augustine (Michigan State, Red Wings)

This year’s Worlds will take place in Ostrava and Prague, Czechia, although some pre-tournament action is taking place across the border in Bratislava, Slovakia. The U.S. is the highest-ranked country in Group B, which will play its round-robin schedule in Ostrava’s 10,004-seat Ostravar Aréna.

Panthers assistant GM Brett Peterson is at the helm of this year’s men’s national team before Wild GM Bill Guerin takes the reins for the truly best-on-best 2025 and 2026 tournaments. The Americans have won bronze medals in four of the last 10 World Championships (2013, 2015, 2018, 2021) but haven’t won gold since 1960, as part of that year’s Winter Olympics in California. Wild head coach John Hynes will be behind the bench.

Wild Provide Injury Update On Boldy, Spurgeon

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The Minnesota Wild had a pair of injured players return to the practice ice on Wednesday, with Jared Spurgeon skating for half an hour and Matt Boldy returning in full.  Frédérick Gaudreau has yet to return, though. Wild head coach Dean Evason shared that the plan is for Boldy to play in Minnesota’s Thursday night game, while Spurgeon is still working his way back.

Minnesota currently reps a 3-4-2 record and the ninth-most goals-for in the league. Both of those metrics should start looking stronger with the return of 22-year-old Boldy, who scored 31 goals and 63 points in 81 NHL games last season. The winger has become a focal point of the Wild offense, averaging 18-and-a-half minutes of ice time each game last year – a pace he maintained this year until his upper-body injury limited his playing time in his last matchup. Boldy has two points through two games so far this season.

And while Boldy’s return is exciting, the Wild lineup won’t look right until Spurgeon is back in the mix. The team captain has become a pinnacle two-way defender in the NHL, proving the value that defenders under 5’10” can provide if they have the right skill set. But Spurgeon has yet to play at all this season,  suffering from an upper-body injury sustained in training camp. The Wild placed Spurgeon on long-term injured reserve, retroactive to the start of the season, on October 25th. This means that the soonest he could return is November 4th. He seems on pace to challenge that return date with a return to practice on Wednesday.

Injury Notes: Golden Knights, Boldy, Nedeljkovic

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Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy issued updates on two players today, as relayed by the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Ben Gotz. According to Cassidy, Alex Pietrangelo will likely be in the Golden Knights’ lineup tomorrow when the team takes on Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks. Pietrangelo is one of the Golden Knights’ two most important defensemen, but he has not played since October 12th.

Cassidy also said that center Nicolas Roy is “going to miss a little time.” He’s out for this weekend’s games and is considered day-to-day. Roy has centered the Golden Knights’ fourth line this season in between Keegan Kolesar and William Carrier. He scored 30 points in 65 games last season and has four points through seven games in 2023-24.

Some other injury updates from across the NHL:

  • The Athletic’s Michael Russo reported today that Minnesota Wild scorer Matthew Boldy will travel with his team on their East Coast road trip, though he is unlikely to play tonight’s contest against the Philadelphia Flyers. Boldy, 22, is one of the Wild’s most important scorers but hasn’t seen game action since October 14th. Getting him back into the fold would give a major boost to the Wild, who are currently playing Patrick Maroon in Boldy’s vacated second-line right winger role.
  • Yesterday, the Penguins placed netminder Alex Nedeljkovic on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Penguins team reporter Michelle Crechiolo relayed word from head coach Mike Sullivan today, who confirmed Nedeljkovic’s placement on IR and clarified that the player’s status is currently considered “week-to-week.” Nedeljkovic had seized the Penguins’ backup goalie job behind Tristan Jarry and begun the season with a .914 save percentage through two starts. Now, in his absence, the Penguins will turn to Magnus Hellberg as their backup.

Injury Updates: Hurricanes, Boldy, Granlund, Bertuzzi

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The Hurricanes are likely to be without center Sebastian Aho tonight against Colorado, relays NHL.com’s Ryan Boulding (Twitter link).  The 26-year-old has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury but skated after the game-day skate today, suggesting he won’t be out much longer.  Aho has three points in his first three games so far this season and is coming off his fourth season out of the last five with at least 30 goals.

Meanwhile, while goaltender Frederik Andersen also took part in the morning skate today, he, too, isn’t expected to be available for this game.  He exited Tuesday’s game in San Jose early after taking a shot off the mask and hasn’t suited up since.  The Hurricanes brought up Pyotr Kochetkov earlier this week and he is currently serving as the backup to veteran Antti Raanta.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Wild winger Matt Boldy skated on Friday for the first time as he works his way back from an upper-body injury sustained earlier this week in Toronto, notes John Shipley of the Pioneer Press. However, head coach Dean Evason was quick to point out that this doesn’t mean that Boldy is nearing a return; the week-to-week designation remains.  The 22-year-old had 31 goals last season and will be a big part of Minnesota’s attack when he’s able to return.
  • While Sharks forward Mikael Granlund is on San Jose’s five-game road trip, there’s still no timeline for when he might return, mentions Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News. The 31-year-old played in the season opener but has been out with a lower-body injury since then; with Logan Couture still out, San Jose is down two of their top veterans.  Granlund has already been on IR for the minimum of seven days and will be eligible to return as soon as he is cleared.
  • After being a game-time decision on Thursday, Maple Leafs winger Tyler Bertuzzi will suit up tonight in Tampa Bay, mentions TSN’s Mark Masters (Twitter link). Head coach Sheldon Keefe recently mentioned that Bertuzzi isn’t fully healthy which left his status for today’s game in question.  The 28-year-old is off to a quiet start with his new club, recording just one point (a goal) through his first four games.

Wild’s Matt Boldy Out Week-To-Week

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Minnesota Wild forward Matt Boldy is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury sustained against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, GM Bill Guerin tells The Athletic’s Michael Russo. At this time, he’s not expected to be out long enough to be eligible for long-term injured reserve, but the Wild will re-evaluate him when they return from their road trip.

Boldy, 22, has quickly cemented himself as a core member of the Wild’s attack since turning pro in 2021. Last season – his first full one in the NHL – he notched 31 goals and 63 points in 81 contests, finishing second on the team in goals. The performance was strong enough to earn him a sizable seven-year, $49MM extension from the Wild mid-season.

The 12th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft is well on his way to putting up high-end point totals with responsible defensive impacts, posting a 52.6% Corsi share last season while receiving a near-equal amount of offensive and defensive zone starts. He notched a goal and assist through two contests this season before leaving the game against Toronto early.

His absence adds to a tricky cap situation for the Wild, who now have a combined $14.575MM on the shelf with captain Jared Spurgeon dealing with a shorter-term upper-body injury. That’s on top of the $14.75MM in space the Wild have tied up in the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, meaning Minnesota has nearly $30MM in dead money on the books for the time being until one of Boldy and Spurgeon can return. The Wild do not have cap space to make a corresponding transaction here and will likely dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen against Montreal on Tuesday.

If there is a player likely to slide up to the top-six in Boldy’s wake, look for veteran winger Marcus Foligno to reprise his role as a winger on a line with Joel Eriksson Ek, something he’s done with regularity over the past few seasons. Normally, Jordan Greenway was riding shotgun with them, but he’s now a member of the Buffalo Sabres after a trade last season.

Injury Notes: Buchnevich, Boldy, Nosek

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St. Louis Blues winger Pavel Buchnevich left yesterday’s 2-1 win over the Seattle Kraken with an upper-body injury and did not return, and head coach Craig Berube did not rule out a longer-term absence last night. Speaking with The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford, Berube ruled out a concussion but said the injury was “unfortunate” and didn’t have any indication of a timeline for return. Buchnevich left the game early in the first period after taking a cross-check into the boards from Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak.

Buchnevich is without a point in two games so far this season but has been invaluable to the Blues since joining the team in the summer of 2021, logging over a point per game as a member of the team. Recording 67 points in 63 games last season, he was on pace to lead the team in scoring if not for injury and logged over 19 minutes per game. The Blues practice today, and the team could issue an update on his status later on.

Other recent injuries sustained around the league:

  • Another core player for a Central Division team left a game last night – Wild winger Matt Boldy, who was one of the few bright spots in a poor defensive showing in a 7-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Athletic’s Michael Russo says it’s likely an upper-body ailment, but head coach Dean Evason did not have an update on Boldy’s status post-game. The Wild have only 12 forwards on the active roster, and if Boldy cannot play Tuesday against Montreal, the Wild would either need to dress seven defensemen or send Dakota Mermis to AHL Iowa and recall a forward in his place. The Wild do not have cap space to recall a healthy extra if Boldy is out of the lineup with defenseman Jared Spurgeon already unavailable.
  • New Jersey Devils forward Tomáš Nosek missed practice today with a lower-body injury and is considered doubtful for Monday’s game against Florida, Devils lead reporter Amanda Stein relays. Nosek has dressed in the Devils’ first two games of the season as a winger after playing center for the Boston Bruins and Vegas Golden Knights for much of the last four seasons, averaging 12:10 per game. The team’s summer free-agent pickup has yet to record a point but has controlled play well at even strength, posting a Corsi share of 65.5% despite heavy defensive zone usage. Either Curtis Lazar or Chris Tierney will draw into the lineup if Nosek can’t go.

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