Hartman’s injury has put the Wild, who have lacked flexibility all season because of injuries, in a real pickle. Teams can only have a maximum 23 players on the roster, and Hartman is occupying one of those spots. So when Lauko returns from injury, the Wild will need to send down a forward or likely put Dermott on waivers.

The Minnesota Wild have been plagued by injuries in 2024-25. Kirill Kaprizov, arguably the team's best player, suffered a lower-body injury that required surgery in late January and while he was initially expected to miss around a month, that timeline has changed.

ST. PAUL - Minnesota Wild President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin said on KFAN Radio on Friday that Kirill Kaprizov is likely going to be out longer than expected.

That means Kaprizov has to miss at least 10 games, putting his earliest possible return date at March 2 when the Wild host the Boston Bruins. The move to long-term IR is retroactive to Jan. 26, so he's already missed three of the minimum 10 games.