By Luke Sims -
On trade deadline day 2023, the Minnesota Wild traded Brandon Duhaime and Connor Dewar, two fan favorites. When you think of Dewar and Duhaime, three things usually come to mind. They played on the penalty kill and were speedy and physical. The Wild will need to fill these roles, and they can do it with players already in the organization.
Adam Raska and Mason Shaw can form a duo like Dewar and Duhaime to provide the Wild with a boost from a new fourth-line duo.
Acquired from the San Jose Sharks in the Calen Addison trade, Raska is not a point producer. With the Wild’s myriad injuries last season, they brought Raska up to provide a spark and be a physical presence. Raska had seven points in 56 AHL games with the San Jose Barracuda and the Iowa Wild and another five scoreless games in the NHL. Therefore, it’s safe to assume that Raska won’t be putting his name on the score sheet often.
Shaw has a remarkable story of perseverance as he worked his way back from his third ACL tear to earn a contract with the Wild again. Shaw played well in his brief time with the big club at the end of the season.
When it comes to penalty killing, the Wild lost two forwards with extensive experience. Behind top-line center Joel Eriksson Ek, Duhaime and Dewar logged the most penalty kill minutes among forwards. But that may not be the worst thing ever because the Wild need to revamp their special teams.
The Wild had the third-worst penalty kill in the league last season, even after firing coach Dean Evason and the staff early in the year. The team's penalty kill percentage was 74.52, which is only better than that of the Anaheim Ducks and the New York Islanders.
Shaw logged 1.38 minutes of time on ice in 19 games last season. But in 2022-23, Shaw played a fair share of his games on the penalty kill and doubled the number of minutes compared to Duhaime. Shaw can be a go-to penalty killer for the Wild.
Raska did not spend any time on the penalty kill in his time with the Wild, but San Jose Sharks writer Bryan Del Fava indicated he could be effective on that unit. “I found his penalty-killing game most effective when he was paired with the now-exiled Evander Kane,” he wrote, “recording two short-handed points.”
Shaw’s underlying numbers indicate he could be a better offensive player than Duhaime or Dewar. Shaw has a higher goals for percentage, expected goals for, and goals for per 60 than Duhaime and Dewar. With more time and minutes, Shaw would most likely produce more. Raska’s numbers do not. The Wild should not expect him to chip in any offense, ever.
Both players are currently restricted free agents (RFA). That means the Wild can match any offer made by another team. However, Minnesota may be hesitant to give Shaw a one-year deal.
The Athletic’s Michael Russo broke down Shaw’s situation in April:
The Wild will have a decision to make on pending restricted free agent Mason Shaw. As much as he’s been a feel-good story and a great fit in the room, Minnesota could move on from him if he wants a one-way contract or the team believes he’d file for arbitration, where he could be awarded a one-way contract. This is where they could look to add some size and sandpaper in this role and for the struggling penalty kill.
Shaw and Raska are similar body types. Both stand 5-foot-10 and weigh around 180 lbs. The Wild prefer larger players, but Shaw and Raska have the traits and attitude (grittiness) the team finds attractive.
Despite their size, both players are physical and are not afraid to get into the dirty areas of the ice or lay the lumber. While the pair would not have Duhaime and Dewar’s size, they would still be just as physical.
Shaw and Raska players are ideal fourth-line guys for the Wild. They will be on team-friendly contracts, even if they are on one-way deals, and won’t block any of the prospects who should be playing up in the lineup. Shaw would fill the role of Dewar as the center on that line, and Raska could be the more reckless winger like Duhaime. Shaw can also slide to the wing and let someone like Freddy Gaudreau be the center on that fourth line.
While it hurts to lose the Dewys, the Wild already have a solution to filling those losses in-house in Adam Raska and Mason Shaw.
All stats and data via Evolving Hockey, HockeyDB, Natural Stat Trick, and CapFriendly unless otherwise noted.
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