The Minnesota Wild took a big blow on defense Friday, placing Jake Middleton on long-term injured reserve and claiming Travis Dermott off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers shortly thereafter.
Wild head coach John Hynes described Middleton as week-to-week, according to The Athletic's Michael Russo. Players on LTIR must miss a minimum of 10 games and 24 days.
Minnesota has that number of contests from now through the team's highly anticipated Jan. 2 matchup with the Washington Capitals, and the 24-day requirement means he'll also need to miss a game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 4 before he's eligible to return Jan. 7 against the St. Louis Blues.
Middleton left Thursday's 7-1 loss to the Oilers in the first period after blocking a shot on his first shift of the game. He played only 37 seconds and didn't return.
The play where Middleton was injured blocking a shot pic.twitter.com/pGfdyobMCM
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) December 13, 2024
Middleton was playing alongside Brock Faber on the left side of the Wild's top pairing this season while averaging 20:36 of ice time, which would be a career high over a full campaign. He's collected 13 points, including five goals, across 29 games in 2024-25.
The veteran blue-liner, who'll turn 29 on the day of that matchup with the league-leading Capitals, is in his third full season and fourth in total with the Wild. They acquired him in a March 2022 trade with the San Jose Sharks.
Dermott went pointless in 10 games while averaging a career-low 13:05 with the Oilers before they placed him on waivers Thursday. The left-shot rearguard is in his eighth NHL campaign, having previously played for the Arizona Coyotes, Vancouver Canucks, and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Minnesota came into Friday with the second-best points percentage (.724) in the league.
