Mason Shaw has appeared in seven games for the Iowa Wild this season, but has recently heated up.
The Wild face a dilemma before the NHL trade deadline. They have the option of burning Mason Shaw’s AHL contract and signing him to an NHL contract, or simply keeping him in the American Hockey League.
It won’t be an easy decision, but Shaw is currently pressing the Wild to sign him to an NHL contract and bring him up to the big club by March 8th.
Shaw, 25, has appeared in seven AHL games this season for the Iowa Wild after missing the entire NHL season rehabbing from his fourth ACL surgery. The Wild signed him to an AHL contract in the offseason, and he began the season on the injured reserve list.
Shaw returned from the injured reserve in late January and played his first professional game in over nine months. His first three games in the AHL were not what he had planned for, but that was to be anticipated given that he had recovered from an ACL injury over the course of nine months.
However, Shaw has four goals, two shorthanded goals, a fight, ten shots, and a game-winning goal, which he scored last night.
Shaw’s ability to kill penalties contributed to his success for the Wild in 59 NHL games last season. Last season, the Wild had the tenth-best penalty kill percentage in the NHL, but they’ve fallen well short this year.
As of now, the Wild are tied with the Montréal Canadiens for the NHL’s third-worst penalty kill.
Shaw has a minus-nine rating in seven games this season, so he still has room to improve his defensive game before the Wild call him up. However, two shorthanded goals in seven games is generally a positive indicator.
There is no doubt Shaw would benefit the Wild’s penalty kill this season, but that cannot be the main reason they call him up, I believe. Nonetheless, it’s encouraging to see him excelling in the AHL just nine months after his fourth ACL surgery.
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