It’s not often that a general manager can let a prospect go in a trade, and then get that same player back without it costing him an asset. Well, Bill Guerin just pulled it off as he claimed Daemon Hunt off of waivers from the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was less than a year ago that Hunt was part of the trade that secured the services of David Jiricek. Now, Hunt might be competing with Jiricek for a spot on the Wild’s roster.
The 23-year-old’s path to the NHL was blocked in Columbus as the Blue Jackets have Zach Werenski, Danton Mateychuk, and Jake Christianson patrolling the left side of the defense. Granted, he isn’t going to be handed a spot on the Wild’s roster either as Jake Middleton and Zeev Buium will be rolling on the left side. However, there is an opening, for at least a few games, with Jonas Brodin still recovering from his off-season surgery.
There is one less player in that competition, though, as Minnesota released Jack Johnson from his try-out offer. The veteran was looking to earn a spot on the roster, but had an indifferent camp. Hunt will get a few days to try and snag either that open roster spot or the seventh defenseman role.
As the roster stands right now, the Wild have nine defensemen on the training camp roster after claiming Hunt and recalling Matt Kiersted from Iowa. It’s likely to be a quick trip for Kiersted as he will likely be reassigned following the final preseason game against Chicago on Friday night. If he’s sent down and Brodin starts the season on injured reserve, Hunt will make the opening night roster.
It’s unusual for a 23-year-old to have to clear waivers, but his entry-level contract wrapped up last year, and he recently signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with Columbus. Since it wasn’t an ELC, he had to go through waivers, and Guerin took the opportunity to snatch him up. Once Brodin returns, Guerin does run the risk that another team (or Columbus) will claim Hunt if the Wild put him on waivers with the intention of assigning him to Iowa.
Still, it’s a low-risk move for Guerin to bring back a player that has some potential. The 2020 third-round pick has proven to be a solid AHL defenseman, racking up 59 points (8 goals, 51 assists) in 173 games with Iowa and Cleveland. He skates well and has a keen awareness in his own zone.
The Wild wrap up their preseason portion of the schedule tonight, and then have a few days to finalize their roster. Teams have to have their season-opening rosters into the league by Monday evening. That means that any players that have to clear waivers have to go on them by 1:00 PM EST on Sunday. It’ll be something to keep an eye on this weekend.