The start to the 2025-26 season was a quiet one for the Minnesota Wild. Officially, they made only one signing as they brought Nico Sturm back into the fold with a two-year contract. They weren’t expected to make a huge splash in the free agent market as it appears general manager Bill Guerin is focusing his efforts on making sure the Wild can keep Marco Rossi and Kirill Kaprizov as opposed to adding new blood. While it’s easy to focus on the big names and high-dollar contracts, teams also have to fill out not only their NHL rosters, but also their AHL rosters.
While the moves haven’t been made official yet, it appears the Wild made a couple of small moves to help in that area. PuckPedia is reporting that Minnesota signed two players to two-way contracts. Forward Tyler Pitlick is getting a two-year deal while defenseman Ben Gleason is getting a one-year deal. Both players will likely spend much of the 2025-26 season in Iowa.
Tyler Pitlick - Center/Forward
33-years-old, 6’2”, 200 lbs. 2010 2nd Round Pick (Edmonton Oilers)
The definition of a journeyman player, Pitlik has suited up for seven different NHL teams during his ten-year career. A Minneapolis native who attended Minnesota State (Mankato) for a season, Pitlick was drafted in the second round of the 2010 NHL draft by the Oilers. Since making it to the league he’s played three seasons with the Oilers, two with Dallas, and parts of seasons with Philadelphia, Arizona, Calgary, Montreal, St. Louis, and New York.
He spent all of last season in the AHL with Providence, where he put up 21 goals in 59 games. Expect him to provide some veteran leadership for the young players in Iowa while also providing Minnesota with an experienced option should they need a call-up due to injury at some point in the season.
His reported contact is for two years at $775,000. His AHL salaries are reported to be $300,000 in 2025-26 and $350,000 in 2026-27. His cousin, Rem Pitlick played 20 games for the Wild in the 2021-22 season.
Ben Gleason - Left-shot Defenseman
27-years-old, 6’1”, 190 lbs., undrafted
After four seasons in the OHL with London and Hamilton, Gleason was signed by the Dallas Stars. Outside of a brief, 4-game stint with Dallas in the 2018-19 season, he spent his entire tenure with the organization with the Texas Stars. He moved on to Bakersfield and the Edmonton organization in 2023-24 and was traded to the Philadelphia organization for Ronnie Attard in November of 2024.
He is a fairly mobile defenseman who can generate some offense from the blueline. In 388 AHL games he has 191 points (42 goals, 149 assists). He should provide some experienced play on what could be a very young Iowa blueline this season. According to PuckPedia, his contract is for $800,000 with a $475,000 AHL payout.
Both players will need to clear waivers in order to join Iowa, but with their rather expensive AHL contracts, that shouldn’t be too much of an issue. These aren’t the most noteworthy signings, but they shouldn’t be overlooked. Organizations, especially ones with a lot of younger players at the AHL level, need these types of players in the pipeline. Not only do they give them options in case of injuries, but they are valuable role models on and off the ice as they show the younger players how to adjust to professional life.