With Joel Eriksson Ek sustaining an injury last night against Utah, the Wild have brought up some extra forward depth. The team announced that they have recalled Tyler Pitlick from AHL Iowa.
Pitlick has been in plenty of transactions this season. It’s his third recall from Iowa while he has also cleared waivers three separate times. The need for the extra appearances on waivers stems from his NHL action as the 34-year-old has played in 31 games with Minnesota this season. However, he has been limited to just two goals in those outings while adding 76 hits in just under eight minutes a night of playing time.
In the minors, Pitlick has been much more productive, notching eight goals and three assists in just a dozen appearances with Iowa. However, despite his offensive success at that level, he’s likely to remain in the limited fourth-line role if he gets into Minnesota’s lineup.
As for Eriksson Ek, he took a high stick near the eye on Friday. Michael Russo of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that the center will be assessed today. While the current expectation is that he won’t play on Sunday versus St. Louis, the belief is that he’ll be okay and that this won’t be a long-term injury. Eriksson Ek sits third on the Wild in scoring with 17 goals and 25 assists in 54 games so far this season.
Minnesota had an open roster spot available after sending David Spacek back to Iowa earlier this week. Accordingly, no corresponding move was needed to bring up Pitlick, although the Wild now have the maximum of 23 healthy players on their roster.