The Minnesota Wild’s expanded 31-player playoff roster is set

With the Minnesota Wild getting set to travel to Edmonton on Sunday for one of the most captivating, yet bizarre postseasons in NHL history, they had to trim the roster down a bit.

Each team in the NHL can carry a total of 31 players to the hub city for the playoffs. In order to reach the 31-player limit, the Wild had to send a few players home — Calen Addison (and his flow), J.T. Brown and Sam Anas.

With those three players not joining the team in Edmonton, here’s what Minnesota’s roster now looks like (in alphabetical order):

Forwards (18)
Ryan Donato, Joel Eriksson Ek, Kevin Fiala, Marcus Foligno, Alex Galchenyuk, Jordan Greenway, Ryan Hartman, Luke Johnson, Mikko Koivu, Luke Kunin, Gerald Mayhew, Zach Parise, Victor Rask, Kyle Rau, Eric Staal, Nico Sturm and Mats Zuccarello

Defensemen (9)
Matt Bartkowski, Louie Belpedio, Jonas Brodin, Matt Dumba, Brad Hunt, Brennan Menell, Carson Soucy, Jared Spurgeon and Ryan Suter

Goalies (4)
Devan Dubnyk, Kaapo Kahkonen, Mat Robson and Alex Stalock

A name many were expecting to see on the expanded playoff roster was Sam Anas. The 27-year-old just wrapped up a superb campaign for the Iowa Wild in the American Hockey League as he led the entire AHL in both assists (50) and points (70) while helping Iowa become one of the top teams in the league.

Filling in for him on the roster is Kyle Rau, who collected 14 goals and 43 total points in 51 games for Iowa during the regular season. Rau, also 27, has appeared in nine games for the Wild since the 2017-18 season. Anas his still yet to make his NHL debut.

Another player notably absent from the Minnesota’s roster is Greg Pateryn. The Wild announced earlier this month that the 30-year-old defenseman is out indefinitely with what is being listed as an upper-body injury. It’s unclear when he will make his return to the Wild, though it wouldn’t be shocking if he isn’t back on the ice before the 2020-21 season.

Something else to note is the status of Kirill Kaprizov, who is eligible to join the Wild in the playoff bubble, though he will be unable to play in any games. Kaprizov is still in Russia and his trip to North America has been delayed due to a visa issue. Once he arrives — more than likely in Edmonton — he will still need to quarantine for seven days before joining the team.

The Wild will take on the Colorado Avalanche in an exhibition game scheduled for Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. CT. Without a doubt, a lot of eyes will be on the fringe roster players joining the team for the postseason.