Wild place Yakov Trenin on injured reserve with upper-body injury

The Minnesota Wild made a couple of roster moves on Thursday.

The team placed forward Yakov Trenin on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. The Wild also assigned forward Devin Shore to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Iowa Wild.

Trenin had been listed as day-to-day with ailment, having missed the team’s last three games due to the injury. He was last in the lineup seven days ago when Minnesota fell to the Edmonton Oilers, 7-1. Since then, the Wild have fallen to the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers, though they beat the Philadelphia Flyers last Saturday.

Per the league’s IR rules, Trenin could technically return to the lineup on Friday night when the Wild hosts the Utah Hockey Club, though there is no inclination that will come to fruition. Across the first five seasons of his NHL career, the Russian center has never played a full 82-game season. The closest Trenin came was in 2021-22 when he appeared in 80 games with the Nashville Predators.

Offensively, Trenin has been off to a slow start compared to the last couple of years. In 29 games, he has just two goals and an assist for three points, a little off the pace that led to him notching 17 points with the Predators and Colorado Avalanche during the 2023-24 campaign.

The 27-year-old arrived in the Twin Cities this past summer after signing a four-year contract, which carries an AAV of $3.5 million through the 2027-28 season.

Shore was placed on waivers on Tuesday and cleared on Wednesday. Per Michael Russo from The Athletic, with Trenin going on IR, there is a chance that Shore can be recalled to Minnesota to fill the roster spot.

The Wild (20-8-4) are second in the Central Division, three points behind the best team in the NHL, the Winnipeg Jets.