Minnesota Wild Place Jordan Schroeder on Waivers

The Minnesota Wild have placed RFA Jordan Schroeder on waivers this afternoon. This move was made to increase the Wild’s position heading into an arbitration hearing that seems almost a lock to happen now as scheduled on the 27th of July.

Today the negotiations between the Minnesota Wild and Jordan Schroeder just became more complicated. In a move to better position themselves for an impending arbitration hearing on the 27th of this month, Michael Russo is reporting that the Wild have placed Schroeder on waivers. The move comes as the Wild expect that Schroeder will clear waivers and not be without being claimed by another club, and thus will be able to explain his value to other teams is low to the arbitrator. That is a crucial part of the arbitration hearing criteria helping to push the price point for Schroeder in the favor of the Wild.

This is not the first, second, or third time Schroeder has cleared waivers in the last year. If he clears waivers again it will Schroeder’s fourth time clearing waivers in less than a year. We should know if that fourth time happens at 11 a.m. tomorrow.

The distance between the Wild and Schroeder seems to be over the fact that Schroeder wants a one-way contract to ensure he’ll be paid NHL money if he clears waivers and is assigned to Iowa. The Wild want a two-way deal whereby if Schroeder goes down to Iowa he will be paid at a rate that is about half of what he would be making in the NHL.

Additionally, it’s been rumored that the Wild are upset that he filed for arbitration and are looking to make sure they are in the best position possible as hearing seems more likely. In arbitration hearings both the player and the club submit a salary number that they are seeking, and as expected the club typically lowballs while the player goes to the higher range of what they think they can get. My feeling is that Schroeder is looking for a number that is close to $1 million while the Wild are looking for a number that is close to his last contract of $600,000 because of his relative stagnation in NHL performance.

Schroeder may have had a strong AHL season with 34 points in 40 games, he only was able to put up 4 points in 26 NHL contests. That is telling evidence and proves that while Schroeder thinks he may be ready for full-time NHL service his numbers do not reflect that. In his career he’s never scored over nine points in any of his NHL stints. Those numbers seem to support a two-way contract vice a one-way contract.

Apr 3, 2016; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Winnipeg Jets defenseman Mark Stuart (5) battles Minnesota Wild center Jordan Schroeder (10) along the boards during the first period at MTS Centre. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports /

Even more of a gauge of where exactly Schroeder is at, is his performance for the US at the IIHF World Championship in May. Team USA had a strong tournament finishing 4th just out of a medal, but Schroeder struggled to make an impactful contribution to the team. His best stat line was 19 shots on goal, but was unable to put any of those shots into the back of the net. His lone assist was his only point in the tournament, and to top it off he finished at minus 3.

The Wild will be smart to bring that performance up in the hearing. To me it shows that Schroeder when facing a level of competition that is somewhere above the AHL and just below the NHL was unable to post good numbers. That further proves that he’s not ready for a one-way NHL contract or money anywhere close to seven figures because he can’t seem to prove he can play at a high level outside the AHL.