Minnesota Wild News

Despite Minnesota having a game vs. Ottawa on Saturday, Quinn Hughes debut will wait until Sunday when Minnesota takes on Boston. The 26-year-old was part of a blockbuster trade on Friday with Vancouver and will bring offensive spark immediately to the Wild lineup. He has two goals, 23 points and 74 SOG in 26 games played this season.

The most anticipated blockbuster trade of the 2025-26 NHL season has finally come to fruition, as the Canucks captain is surprisingly shipped to Minnesota in exchange for a 2026 first-rounder and a trio of former first-round picks. One of the very best defensemen in the NHL today, the acquisition of Hughes immediately gives the Wild one of the best blue-lines across the entire league. The former Norris Trophy winner leaves Vancouver after eight seasons in which he tallied 61 goals and 371 assists across 459 career regular season games.

With Jonas Brodin battling an undisclosed injury, Minnesota has recalled Jiricek from the Iowa Wild (AHL). The 22-year-old Jiricek has three points (1G / 2A) in 10 games with Iowa this season.

Brodin exited Thursday's game against the Dallas Stars late in the third period and no update and is questionable for Minnesota’s games this weekend. The 32-year-old defenseman is averaging 22:05 time-on-ice and has nine points (3G / 6A) in 30 games this season.

Kierstad has only played two NHL games over the past three seasons, playing almost exclusively at the AHL level. The undrafted 27-year-old defenseman has three assists in 23 games with the Iowa Wild (AHL) this season.

Aube-Kubel has 80 points (32G / 48A) in 304 career NHL games, but has spent the entirety of the 2025-26 season in the AHL. The 29-year-old forward has 13 points (5G / 8A) in 23 games with the Iowa Wild (AHL) this season.

Middleton was limited to 16:34 time-on-ice in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken, and has been placed on Injured Reserve due to an upper-body injury. The 29-year-old defenseman is averaging 18:08 time-on-ice and has six assists in 28 games this season.

Zuccarello missed the first month of the season with a lower-body injury and now returns to the sidelines, placed on Injured Reserve due to an upper-body injury. The 38-year-old Zuccarello has been effective when healthy, with 12 points (2G / 10A) in 15 games.

Minnesota has steadily rotated its goalies over the past month, but will give Gustavsson rare consecutive starts on Thursday when he tends twine against their divisional rivals, the Dallas Stars. Jesper Wallstedt has deservedly received a lot of praise for his goaltending abilities lately for Minnesota, but Gustavsson has been no slouch himself. The 27-year-old Gustavsson has posted excellent numbers lately, with a 2.15 GAA and .924 SV% in 10 games since the beginning of November (6-2-2). Minnesota enters the action on Thursday as a +127 home underdog against a Dallas team that has been cruising lately, going 9-0-2 in its last 11 games.

Hunt will make his first appearance since November 19th as the Wild are opting to dress seven defensemen on Monday. He will slot into the lineup in place of Tyler Pitlick, who is out with an undisclosed injury.

Wild head coach John Hynes mentioned the Wild were dealing with some game-time decisions for Monday night's game, though it appears Pitlick is the only one unavailable. Daemon Hunt will draw into the lineup in his place.

Minnesota has struggled offensively lately, relying heavily on its goaltending while scoring two or fewer goals in each of its last five games (2-2-1). Gustavsson will return to the crease on Monday, looking to rebound after allowing three goals on 30 shots (.900 SV%) in his most recent outing, a 4-1 loss to the Calgary Flames. The 27-year-old Swedish goalie has a 2.76 GAA and .905 SV% in 18 games this season (7-8-3). Minnesota enters the action on Monday as a -130 road favorite against a Seattle team on a four-game losing streak (0-4-0).