Wild About Waivers
With the news that Patrick O’Sullivan will be returning to the Minnesota Wild organization via waivers, lets take a look at a few past waiver claims the Wild have made.
11/2/02 D Andrei Zyuzin, New Jersey Devils
Zyuzin spent three seasons with the Wild after being claimed from the Devils. The former #2 overall pick would have 19 goals and 36 assists in 188 games for the Wild. He was also a part of the memorable 2003 playoff run. Post-Wild he would play a year each for the Blackhawks and Flames before heading to the KHL.
10/10/03 D Alex Henry, Washington Capitals
Henry spent 2 season with the Wild scoring 2 goals with 9 assists in 134 games. He also racked up 179 penalty minutes. In October 2005 he was named temporary captain of the team. Since leaving the Wild he has spent time in the Nashville and Montreal organizations but hasn’t seen much time in the NHL.
11/14/03 C Jason Wiemer, New York Islanders
The former 1st rounder spent only one season with the Wild putting up 7 goals, 11 assists, and 106 penalty minutes in 62 games. He would play in the NHL only 1 season after the lockout, splitting it between New Jersey and Calgary.
10/5/05 C Randy Robitaille, Nashville Predators
Robitaille scored 12 goals with 28 assists in his only season in Minnesota. He currently plays in the Swiss league where he was the scoring leader and MVP during the lockout.
3/4/06 Mattias Weinhandl, New York Islanders
A prolific goal scorer in Europe, that skill never translated to the NHL. He had 3 goals and 4 assists in 27 games over 2 seasons for the Wild. He also added 18 goals during a stint with the Houston Aeros. He currently plays in the KHL and has 17 goals in 29 games.
11/23/07 Todd Fedoruk, Dallas Stars
Fedoruk is probably the most infamous of the Wild waiver claims as the previous season he had to have facial reconstruction surgery after a fight with then Wild enforcer Derek Boogaard. This claim made them teammates. Fedoruk had 6 goals, 5 assists and 106 penalty minutes during his only season with the Wild and also added a goal in the playoff loss to Colorado. He spent most of that season playing on the Gaborik-Demitra line. Following his stint with the Wild he played a year each with Phoenix and Tampa Bay.
11/21/09 Andrew Ebbett, Chicago Blackhawks
Ebbett, had a decent run with the Wild last season scoring 8 goals and 6 assists in 49 games and getting a lot of playing time with Martin Havlat and Guillaume Latendresse. He is currently playing in the Phoenix Coyotes system.
Bonus: Boogaard vs. Fedoruk