Minnesota Wild Claim Veteran; Waive Homegrown Forward
The Minnesota Wild come into the week having dropped a contest at home against the St. Louis Blues. They have just one game left, Tuesday at home against Tampa Bay, prior to the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline expiring.
General manager Bill Geurin has been seeking out ways to improve John Hynes’ roster. You can believe that didn’t slow down while he was overseas winning a Gold Medal with Team USA in Italy either.
As the MN Wild continue to position themselves for roster changes, they made a couple of moves on the fringes Monday.
Robby Fabbri claimed by Minnesota Wild
The center position has been a focal point for the MN Wild since before the acquisition of superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes. That remains the most likely path for them to add talent at the deadline as well. Michael Russo (The Athletic) is reporting that they claimed a veteran talent there as well.
#mnwild claim Robby Fabbri. Had an 18- and 17-goal year with Detroit and played 10 playoff games during Blues Cup run. Scored at least 15 goals 4x in career
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) March 2, 2026
Robby Fabbri is a 30-year-old center in his 10th NHL season. Once the 21st overall pick, he’s now more of a depth option at this stage of his career.
Just two seasons ago, Fabbri scored 18 goals for the Detroit Red Wings. He had 17 during the 2021-22 season, and has eclipsed double digits six times in his career.
For the Blues this season, Fabbri has played in just 15 games. However, two years ago with Detroit, he racked up a 58.3% faceoff success rate. Over the past three seasons that averaged out to 51.4%.
The Wild aren’t likely to lean on Fabbri heavily, and Russo tweeted his expectation for the acquisition to be, “likely 4th-line winger, maybe penalty kill, maybe can chip in offensively. Just a free player that they hope upgrades their bottom-6.”
MN Wild waive Tyler Pitlick
Minneapolis native, and former Minnesota State Mavericks star, Tyler Pitlick found himself on the outs to make room for the Minnesota Wild claiming Fabbri.
#mnwild place Tyler Pitlick on waivers
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) March 2, 2026
At 34 years old, Pitlick has played in 32 games for the MN Wild this season. He has just two goals while being a minus-24. He has participated in just three faceoffs and been blanked in each of them.
With a Stanley Cup run under his belt, and a more substantiated track record of success, it’s a way for the MN Wild to improve without breaking the bank.
More MN Wild tweaks on the farm
Beyond just improving the fringes of their NHL roster, the Minnesota Wild were active at the AHL level too. Guerin swung a trade for defense depth in Iowa, and that could be foreshadowing of more to come.
minor league trade coming through: #mnwild acquire defenseman Roman Schmidt from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for forward Boris Katchouk.
— Jessi Pierce (@jessi_pierce) March 2, 2026
Schmidt will report to the Iowa Wild in the American Hockey League (AHL).
As Jessi Pierce (Skor North) reports, Roman Schmidt will join the team down in Iowa. Boris Katchouk, a forward,is headed to the Philadelphia Flyers.
This is notable in that the MN Wild could opt to trade from the defenseman position in order to acquire NHL help, and this could be the depth they need. On that front, failed 1st round pick David Jiricek may be enough of a throw in to move the needle for impact talent.
The Wild acquired Jiricek last season from Columbus. He didn’t stick in Minnesota, and then suffered a season-ending injury. Across 25 games this year with the Wild, Jiricek has 19 blocks and eight hits, but a whopping 24 giveaways to just three takeaways. Maybe a third destination could be the charm for him.
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