The Minnesota Wild picked up 24-year-old defenseman Declan Chisholm off of waivers from the Winnipeg Jets on January 24, 2024. Despite becoming a member of the Wild at the beginning of the NHL All-Star Break, he wasn’t able to join the team for a while. Between the break and troubles with his work visa, there was a lengthy delay for Chisholm to make it to Minnesota. He just started playing in the Wild’s line-up a few days ago, so who is he and what does he bring to the team?
What is His Background?
Chisholm was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets during the 2015 NHL Draft. He was picked up in the 5th round at 150th overall. While he joined their AHL affiliate team the Manitoba Moose during the 2020-21 season, the Jets only pulled him up to the NHL for 2 games during the 2021-22 season and 2 more games for the 2023-24 season.
What Kind of Player is He?
As a left-handed defenseman, Chisholm comes with an offensive upside. He’s a good skater who projects as a third-pairing defenseman. The Wild already have Chisholm running the second power-play unit and while it still needs some work, he seems to be advancing his skill to run the Wild power-play.
One other area where Chisholm excels is in breaking out of the zone. He is able to make outlet passes to start an offensive rush. This was an area where the Wild were lacking when both Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon were out of the lineup. Now that Chisholm is here, he is another option when it comes to outlet passes.
Why Didn’t the Jets Keep Him?
The Jets have a backlog of defensmen and defensive prospects. They were not as focused on developing Chisholm as a prospect as they maybe should’ve been. Despite his potential, he was rarely given the opportunity to show it off at the NHL level. Even before being put on waivers so the Jets could reassign him to the Moose, Chisholm had been scratched for the very healthy Jets other than a 7-game conditioning stint with the Moose in November.
Despite knowing that they’d probably lose Chisholm by putting him on waivers, the Jets were forced to make a decision in order to clear up cap space. He is on a one-year, two-way salary with a $775,000 cap hit. At the end of this season, he will be a Restricted Free Agent.
How’s He Done so Far in Minnesota?
By the time Chisholm made it to Minnesota, he hadn’t skated in 11 days. That meant that besides learning the systems that the Wild use, he also needed to get his conditioning back. His Wild debut was delayed until February 17, 2024.
In the three games that Chisholm has played with the Wild, he’s already got 2 points. In fact, he scored his first NHL goal during his first game with the Wild. It was a power-play goal during one of his first shifts running the second power-play unit. So far, Chisholm was a good way to beef up the blue line for a possible playoff run without having to trade or pay too much. He’s got great potential and just needs a place to prove himself, even if he isn’t re-signed after this season.
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