Minnesota Wild: We May Never See Schroeder Again In Minnesota
The Minnesota Wild announced this afternoon that they would be placing forward Jordan Schroeder on waivers with the intent of assigning him to Iowa and ending his training camp with Minnesota. Considering the protracted contract negotiations and lack of improvement in play, it’s quite possible this could be a big signal of what Schroeder’s future with the Wild will be.
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One of the biggest storylines of the offseason seems to have been largely all for not. It was announced today that Jordan Schroeder along with Pat Cannone, Kurtis Gabriel, Gustav Olofsson, and Zack Mitchell would be sent to Des Moines with the intent of being assigned to Iowa to start the season. Schroeder and Cannone will need to clear waivers before being assigned. As we all remember there was some drama surrounding Schroeder this offseason as the Minnesota Wild and the former Gopher squared off in a RFA battle royale that got very close to an arbitration hearing.
Schroeder was fighting for a one-way contract and the Wild in no certain terms did not want that to happen as they pushed for a two-way contract. Schroeder wanted to secure more stable money under a one-way deal that would pay him the same amount of salary if he were up with Minnesota or down with Iowa. That’s an understandable position for a player with 107 NHL games played to expect to try for a one-way deal, but in the end his play did not warrant that type of contract.
Schroeder may have had a strong AHL season with 34 points in 40 games, he only was able to put up 4 points in 26 NHL contests. That is telling evidence and proves that while Schroeder thought he may be ready for full-time NHL service his numbers do not reflect that. In his career he’s never scored over nine points in any of his NHL stints. Those numbers seem to support a two-way contract vice a one-way contract.
Sep 29, 2016; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Winnipeg Jets defenceman Mark Stuart (5) battles for the puck with Minnesota Wild center Jordan Schroeder (10) during the first period during a preseason hockey game at MTS Centre. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports
Still the question for me has always been why did the Wild tender him an offer as an RFA? Time and time again Schroeder has been given chances to be a NHL regular, but he was unable to make it stick. All lead indications, other than his AHL numbers, suggested he still was not up to the task. His World Championship stats were very telling and it just seemed like the Wild would get more of the same from him.
And they did get more of the same out of him in camp. Schroeder played in 3 out of 4 preseason tilts and logged roughly an average of 14:42 of average ice time across those games with no points. He got his looks and he got his playing time and still could not make it happen. As usual his speed and hustle were apparent, but it just didn’t yield any results.
So why is Schroeder being cut at this point in camp is such a big deal? It’s because it seems like he’s going to be assigned to Iowa, never be heard from again. There’s too many players now ahead of him that need time with the big club. I find it hard to believe that when the phone rings in Des Moines for a forward call up that Minnesota won’t want a Alex Tuch, Zac Dalpe, or Christoph Bertschy over Schroeder to give them more NHL looks.
Sure he could play himself above these guys, but right now those players have played themselves above him simply based on the fact that all of them are still in camp. It just seems like Schroeder’s time and opportunities have run out. There’s a slight possibility we can see him a few more times this year in a Minnesota sweater, but being cut now as opposed to the last cutdown makes that a harder situation to envision.
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