Tyson Jost scratched from lineup in Ottawa

Dean Evason found success with his first overhaul of the lineup before Tuesday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, but he continuing with the changes and opting to get someone deserving an opportunity in the lineup as the Minnesota Wild face the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.

The lines were revealed and in comes Mason Shaw, and out goes Tyson Jost.

This can be a simple switch, or it can be as complicated as you want to make it out to be. Shaw has done well enough in his one game of regular season action and an impressive preseason. Scooting around the ice like a man on fire, providing the right amount of intensity that the Wild crave from their players, so he deserves to get his chance.

On the other side of the transactional coin, Jost hasn’t played well enough to not fall victim to being a healthy scratch. He had a terrible time against the Boston Bruins and one total point in six games. Just not a great start for a player that some wanted to take Kevin Fiala’s spot in the lineup and were hoping that his scoring touch could somehow come alive. Now, he’s up in the press box of the Canadian Tire Centre, hoping that Shaw doesn’t impress too well so he can be back in action.

While more depth isn’t always a bad thing, you have to wonder if he has a regular spot in the lineup when everyone’s healthy. Jordan Greenway is still out, so his return will push everyone down a line, and Jost might just not be the right type of player for Evason’s bottom-six.

It’s just like how Rem Pitlick was here last season — if we want to stretch our memory way back. Pitlick was good enough at times, but he didn’t do enough offensively to warrant a top-six position, but he wasn’t good defensively to be in the bottom-six. Jost is a little better than that example, but it’s the same sort of thing. His play — and certainly his $2 million cap hit — doesn’t belong on the fourth line that the Wild want to have.

Maybe a trade is coming up and one more team will gamble on Jost’s first-round reputation to kickstart his career again. He is still only 24 years old, so maybe he just needs a team that has a barren top-six forward group like the Montreal Canadiens or San Jose Sharks, to show a bit of interest. Not a bad player at all, but the spots are full in Minnesota.

With our luck of predicting transactions, he will suddenly be a mainstay on this roster for the next decade.