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MN Wild Recall Another Veteran Forward with Nick Foligno Banged Up
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- MN Wild Recall Another Veteran Forward with Nick Foligno Banged Up
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
The Minnesota Wild are 2-0-1 on the 2026-27 season so far, with their next matchup Thursday at Tampa Bay . For now, all eyes remain on defenseman Brock Faber, who who remains sidelined indefinitely after surgery on a fractured skull .
Then Tuesday, the Wild lost one of their Foligno brothers, when the elder Nick left late in the first period against Buffalo with an upper-body injury and did not return. The 38-year-old logged just 3:29 of ice time on five shifts before heading to the locker room, and he's now listed as day-to-day .
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Minnesota Wild recall Tyler Pitlick
In response to their loss in the bottom-six, president of hockey operations Bill Guerin is calling in some help from Iowa before the Wild head to Florida. On Wednesday afternoon, the team recalled forward Tyler Pitlick, giving head coach John Hynes an extra body up front.
We have recalled forward Tyler Pitlick from the Iowa Wild.
Full details » https://t.co/Mt39a5aNH8 pic.twitter.com/M6gBoca0Ol— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 7, 2026
It's a tough break for the Foligno brothers. Bill Guerin traded for Nick at the deadline last March to unite him with Marcus, and the two have been skating together on the fourth line with Michael McCarron. Marcus said it was "just something that's bothering Nick, and he just couldn't handle it anymore," per The Hockey News .
If the name sounds familiar, it should. Pitlick is a 34-year-old Minneapolis native, who came out of Centennial High School and played college hockey at Minnesota State Mankato, and the cousin of former Wild forward Rem Pitlick.
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He signed with his hometown NHL team ahead of last season and played 32 games for the 2025-26 Wild, scoring just two goals and averaging a career-low 7:46 TOI.
Tyler Pitlick scores his first of the season 🙌 https://t.co/qQwsEnEU8t
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 13, 2025
Recent history of Pitlick and Wild
The Wild waived him in March to make room for Robby Fabbri, who is no longer with the organization. In 20 AHL games with Iowa last year, Pitlick put up 10 goals and 15 points .
In his NHL career, the former Oilers second-round pick has 58 goals and 111 points in 452 NHL games over 11 seasons with nine different teams. He's a bottom-six grinder, not a scorer, but he knows the system and the room.
Related: Top Line MN Wild Center Leaves Practice with Injury
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Pitlick scored in the preseason opener against Chicago this fall, but the Wild placed him on waivers on Sept. 24 and he cleared the next day . He's been productive in Des Moines, with a goal and three points in two games for Iowa to start the season.
As The Athletic's Michael Russo noted , Pitlick gives Minnesota an extra forward on the trip, and The Hockey News expects Nico Sturm to step into Foligno's spot if he can't go, with Pitlick serving as the 13th forward.
