Wild place Luke Johnson on waivers

After the Minnesota Wild held their own against the big dogs of the West Division, they have made a change to their current roster by placing forward Luke Johnson on waivers.

The depth forward has been up and down in between the taxi squad and the NHL lineup as the Wild have dealt with injuries and COVID protocol list-influenced absences, appearing in a total of 10 games for Minnesota.

Johnson is technically listed as an emergency loan per CapFriendly, but since he has hit the 30-day/10-game threshold since being recalled, he must go through waivers to be reassigned to either the taxi squad or AHL.

With this move, one would have to assume that this means that Zach Parise is close to returning to the lineup after being in COVID protocol for the last week or so. The veteran winger has not played for the Wild since March 22.

Next on the Wild’s schedule is a tough five-game stretch against the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues that begins on Monday night. They might need all the support they can get.