A night after he played 9:44 in the third defensive pairing and was a minus-7 in C+/- — second worst on the team, two behind his partner Stu Bickel — Justin Falk has been reassigned to the Iowa Wild.
This also comes just one day after the Iowa Wild were crushed 9-2 by the Grand Rapids Griffins. Much of that 9-2 loss was on some poor defending, so Falk’s presence, though he’s been marginal at the NHL level this season, will help Iowa and the serious defensive deficit there has been there.
Meanwhile, coach Mike Yeo said after morning practice that Jonas Brodin would not be traveling with the team to Winnipeg for Monday’s game after being injured against Winnipeg on Saturday. That gives the Wild two fewer defensemen than they had on Saturday.
The team could make it through Monday’s game without calling someone up if Christian Folin, Nate Prosser, and Stu Bickel all suited up.
#mnwild coach Mike Yeo: Backstrom, Granlund, Brodin and Zucker not going to Winnipeg. Severity of Granlund/Brodin injuries still uncertain.
— Rachel Blount (@BlountStrib) December 28, 2014
However, it seems likely that they make a call-up despite Bickel having his best game of the season on Saturday, playing a season-high 10:21 in Saturday’s game. The problem with suiting Bickel up based on Saturday’s game is that him having an even GF%, an assist, and the worst C+/- on the team is his ceiling. that’s kind of the best you can expect from him. The Wild will need someone to play up the lineup to replace Brodin and to provide more than Bickel can offer.
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Bickel’s presence as a fighter and enforcer is also supposed to act as a deterrent (so the logic goes), yet his presence did very little to protect the team’s skill players. The Jets beat up on the Wild all night, ultimately injuring Mikael Granlund and Jonas Brodin — both of whom will miss Monday’s game. That blows a hole in the theory of the sort of intangibles he brings to the lineup.
Calling up Jonathon Blum or Mathew Dumba would provide more upside than suiting up Bickel. Both have been playing great in Iowa lately.
Dumba has nine points (3-6-9) in 11 games and a plus-4 rating (despite being a minus-4 in Saturday’s game). Playing in just 26 of the team’s 31 games, Blum is fourth on the team in points with 14 (4-10-14). He has a goal and two assists in the last five games. Though Dumba has been stronger and has much more upside in terms of his future, don’t be surprised if it’s Blum getting the call, as the team is trying to practice patience with Dumba and allow him to get in some top minutes in Iowa.
If the Wild do call up a defenseman, expect that to be announced later on Sunday.