Last season one of the more pleasant surprises for the Minnesota Wild was the strong physical play of journeyman forward Chris Porter. However, with the announcement yesterday that the St. Louis Blues have signed Porter to a tryout contract it looks as if he’s played his last game for the Wild.
When Chris Porter was brought in to play for the Minnesota Wild at the end of training camp last year, there was a collective “Who is that?” across the State of Hockey. The Flyers had just cut him before he could play a single game for them and the Wild needed another forward, so they decided take a chance on the UND alum and former Shattuck teammate of Zach Parise. The effort the Wild would get be more than anyone could have imagined and endeared him to Wild fans after just one season.
Yesterday it was announced that Porter’s time with the Wild was over as he would be signing a PTO with the division rival St. Louis Blues. In a sense Porter is returning home to the team that he broke into the NHL with and played parts of six seasons with before coming to Minnesota. The cap strapped Blues will be looking for him to earn a spot as a low cost depth, 4th liner, and penalty killer like he was with the Wild.
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Porter had played six seasons in the NHL before coming to Minnesota, but had struggled to put together anything consistent before signing with Minnesota. Before joining the Wild Porter had never played over 47 games in a season. But in Minnesota struggles of players and injuries opened the door for Porter to play a career high 61 games. He may have only racked up 7 points (4 goals and 3 assists), but he played good minutes a game and killed a lot of penalties.
It was the durability and willingness to do what he needed to do to play, and that was what made Porter a great asset for the Wild. He excelled on the penalty kill when other players on the Wild had issues with only seven power play goals against.
Like other solid players who had their scoring issues, Porter decided to let his physicality make up for it. He recorded 157 hits in 62 games played leading the team on the season by 27 over Charlie Coyle. What’s even more astounding is that Porter was able to lead the team in hits while only averaging 9:38 of ice time a game. That basically says that when he was on the ice he was putting his body into someone, and with only six penalty minutes on the season that means he was doing it cleanly and effectively.
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So that’s really why the Wild will miss him. He was a true defensive forward, a grinder in every sense of the word. He was working hard every shift trying to match up with the other squad’s scorers to make sure they had a hard time. Porter certainly earned his place on the team, and with lack of NHL ready talent he could have been useful for the Wild again this season.
Sadly, though the Wild have decided to keep his roster spot open for younger players. Could they have signed him to a PTO? Hard to tell, but it certainly wouldn’t have hurt and would have let him earn his way onto the Wild. Regardless it seems the Wild were wanting to head in a different direction regardless of what Porter could offer them.
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As for his future with St. Louis, it seems like that might be a bit shaky as well. The Blues are bringing in five other players on PTOs so the competition to make the team could be steep. But Porter should be up to the task, and will certainly give the right effort. I guess in the end if it doesn’t work out the Wild could still come calling if he’s cut, but for now it looks as if we’ve seen the last of Porter in a Wild sweater.