3 October 2023
Mason Shaw, a fourth-round pick by the Wild in 2017 who was finally finding his feet in the NHL before suffering his fourth serious knee injury, has signed a one-year, one-way deal with the Iowa Wild in Des Moines.
The Wild’s AHL franchise announced the deal on social media Tuesday morning.
Shaw, 25, played in a career-high 59 NHL games last spring and became an immediate favorite of teammates who admired his gritty game and the fact that he had come back from three anterior cruciate ligament surgeries suffered during his rise through the minors.
He was playing well, with seven goals and 10 assists, when he crashed into the boards April 3 in Las Vegas, tearing the ACL in his left knee. He had surgery on May 7 and has been skating on his own at TRIA Rink during training camp.
Asked last week whether being with the team would help motivate him during his recovery, Wild head coach Dean Evason said, “I don’t think it’s gonna help or hurt his motivation. He’s motivated, as you know. He is extremely motivated.”
Shaw has 39 goals and 75 assists in 188 games with Iowa. He was named a captain of last season’s club before being promoted to the NHL club.
“We know what he’s been through,” Evason said. “But we also knew that he is the type of person, personality, that he’ll do whatever it takes to play, and he’s on his way to doing that.”