Wild sorting out opening night lines, defense pairs; Daemon Hunt returns

With Jonas Brodin's status for the Oct. 9 Wild-Blues season opener in St. Louis in question, Minnesota has added a familiar name by signing Daemon Hunt off waivers. 

If you'll recall, Hunt was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the deal that brought defenseman David Jiricek to the Wild last season. Jiricek is expected to be on the blue line to begin the season, and he could be joined by Hunt until Brodin returns from offseason surgery. 

The Wild selected Hunt, 23, in the third round of the 2022 NHL Draft. He played in one game with the Wild last season, registering eight minutes of ice time, before being traded. He got into 12 games with the Wild in 2023-24 as a 21-year-old. 

Minnesota wraps up the preseason schedule Friday night against the Chicago Blackhawks, but they may have provided a glimpse of their opening night lineup against Winnipeg on Tuesday night. 

Line combinations vs. Winnipeg: 

1. Kirill Kaprizov, Marco Rossi, Matt Boldy
2. Danila Yurov, Joel Eriksson Ek, Vladimir Tarasenko
3. Marcus Johansson, Ryan Hartman, Liam Ohgren
4. Marcus Foligno, Nico Sturm, Yakov Trenin 

Foligno isn't expected to play on the fourth line when the season begins, so it could be Yurov or Ohgren who slide down the line chart if both make the team, which is a real possibility because Mats Zuccarello is expected to miss up to two months with a lower-body injury.