Minnesota Wild place defenseman on waivers as Gregor and Cholowski clear

On Friday, Noah Gregor of the Florida Panthers and Dennis Cholowski of the New Jersey Devils cleared waivers without being claimed.

When two names go through like that, you can feel the market is cautious.

In Montreal, Kent Hughes is always watching for this type of opportunity, especially in January. This time, the available player is Matt Kiersted, who belongs to the Wild. The club placed him on waivers Saturday for a potential assignment to Iowa.

Kiersted is 27 years old, stands 6 feet tall, and weighs 182 pounds. With the Wild, he has already played four games this season, recording one assist. Last year in Charlotte, he collected 29 points in 64 games with a +34 rating.

This season in Iowa, he has three assists in 23 games and 16 penalty minutes. In 2023-24, he also recorded 15 points in 57 games in Charlotte, with a +14 rating.

In the NHL, he made his debut with the Panthers in 2020-21, playing seven games. Overall in the NHL, he has 43 games played, two goals, six assists, and eight points.

In 2021-22, he added 10 games and two points, then 20 games and four points in 2022-23. He was never drafted and had to build his place step by step. At the University of North Dakota, he produced 22 points in 29 games in 2020-21.

For the Montreal Canadiens, everything comes down to the available space on the blue line. Claiming a player on waivers is a transaction that costs no assets. And if you want to send him to Laval afterward, he must go through waivers again.

On Saturday, Matt Kiersted forces Montreal to look at the list and make a choice.

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