The Minnesota Wild, no doubt like the rest of the league, will be keeping their eyes on the waiver wire over the next couple of weeks.
As teams thin out their bloated training camp rosters, they will have to make some tough waivers decisions and with that, there could be some useful players available to the Minnesota Wild.
Looking at the waiver list for Monday, September 24th; one particular name piques my interest.
That player being Connor Brickley; coming in at 6’0″ and 203lbs, he is a 26 year-old winger with a bit of size to his game. He is versatile and strong on the boards, though has never produced points at a great rate whilst playing in the NHL.
Currently on a salary cap minimum of $650,000 on a one-year two-way deal with the Nashville Predators, I think he’d be the perfect younger option on the fourth line.
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In 44 games with the Florida Panthers last year, he was good for 4 goals, 8 assists and 82 hits. It’s clear his upside lies in his ability to battle; exactly the sort of player that Bruce Boudreau enjoys sticking in the line-up.
Across his American Hockey League career, he has totals of 50 goals and 52 assists across 195 games, so there is clearly some play-making and goal scoring ability that accompanies the bigger bodied game.
For a waiver claim, it’s minimal cost to the Minnesota Wild. It potentially weakens a rival in the Nashville Predators, not by much, but every little counts!
Do you put your hand up and say we’ll take Connor Brickley in?
Maybe he turns out to be an absolute steal and turns his career on its’ head.
Maybe he ends up leaving you with some regrets, much like Tyler Ennis; a player that plainly and simply didn’t fit with the Minnesota Wild. Different circumstance, but you get the picture.
Or, as is the case with the whole waivers situation so often, do you watch a rival slide a player that has some potential, albeit not yet fully reached, into the AHL and be done with it.
To my thinking, Brickley is worth a shot with the Minnesota Wild. He’s no worse than anyone we already have. Granted, he clogs up the roster a little and limits opportunities for younger, Minnesota Wild drafted players, but he would add some more grit and resilience.