ST. PAUL, Minn. — Only once this season have the Minnesota Wild played with a full complement of players up front. It happened during an Oct. 20 home game against the Canucks, and lasted exactly 2 minutes, 58 seconds — right up until Jordan Greenway left very early in his return to the lineup.
Since then, the Wild have battled through a wide range of injuries, headlined by the loss of Ryan Hartman, who has missed the past month and a half. He was injured fighting during an Oct. 30 game at Chicago and only recently started skating on his own. He could be back in the lineup as soon as Sunday’s home game against the Senators.
Though it’s unclear where Hartman will play, it makes sense to place him alongside Freddy Gaudreau and opposite Matt Boldy as he knocks off the rust. Then, as soon as Hartman is back in the swing of things, the ultimate goal should be to get him back between Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello.
Still, with how well the Wild (16-11-2) have been playing over the past few weeks, coach Dean Evason is going to have a difficult decision to make in the coming days. Not to mention Brandon Duhaime has started skating on his own, as well, meaning he could be back in the mix shortly after the holiday break.
“I certainly hope we’re all healthy and we have to make that decision,” Evason said. “Is it fun to speak to somebody? Of course not. Everybody wants to play. The positive thing is that we have a lot of players — if everyone’s healthy — we feel are NHL players that can play the game.”
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So, who’s the odd man out?
As impressive as Sammy Walker has been since being called up from the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League last week, he seems like the natural choice to be sent down whenever Hartman is ready to go. If that is the case, Walker certainly will be on the radar should the injury bug bite again. This is part of the process of carving out a role at the highest level.
“Obviously we’ve seen people come up from within our system,” Evason said while praise Iowa Wild coach Tim Army. “We feel our depth is great.”
Then, whenever, Duhaime is cleared to return to the lineup, Evason is going to have an even tougher decision on his hands.
Does he take Sam Steel out of the lineup despite how well he has played at No. 1 center? Does he take Ryan Reaves out despite the physical presence he brings to the ice? Does he take Connor Dewar or Mason Shaw out despite how well they have played as of late?
As general manager Bill Guerin would say: It’s a good problem to have.
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