After scoring 40 goals and leading the league, Minnesota Wild organization signs free agent forward to a PTO
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Arthur Kaliyev, fresh off a 40-goal AHL season, is signing a 25-game PTO with the Iowa Wild, per Elliotte Friedman. Here is what it could mean for his NHL future.
Arthur Kaliyev has a new home, and it comes with a real chance to prove a point.
Elliotte Friedman reports the winger is signing a 25-game PTO with the AHL's Iowa Wild, the Minnesota Wild's affiliate.
Kaliyev is 25 and clearly wants to get back to playing, and the numbers he brings are hard to ignore.
He scored 40 goals for Belleville last season, led the entire AHL, and took home the Willie Marshall Award as the league's top goal scorer.
A season that deserved more attention
He also added 28 assists for 68 points in 70 games, good for third in the league, and earned a spot on the AHL first all-star team.
His 16 power-play goals ranked second in the league too.
The NHL has been a tougher road.
Los Angeles drafted him 33rd overall in 2019, and he has played 204 NHL games across stops with the Kings, Rangers and Senators.
Ottawa gave him just two games last season, and he picked up one assist.
Why Iowa makes sense
The fit is easy to see. Iowa's top scorer last season was Gerry Mayhew, who finished with 22 goals.
Kaliyev scored well past that number on his own, so the Wild affiliate is getting a shooter who can change how its offense looks night to night.
The PTO works for both sides.
Kaliyev can show he can keep producing, and Iowa does not have to commit to a standard contract right away.
The deal is strictly with the AHL club and does not put him on Minnesota's NHL roster, though a big start could get people in the organization talking.
Twenty-five games is a short runway, but for a goal scorer like Kaliyev it might be all he needs.
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