Minnesota Wild bring back familiar defenseman in waiver claim as Quinn Hughes uncertainty lingers
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The Minnesota Wild claimed defenseman Cameron Crotty off waivers from the Ottawa Senators, a quick reunion for the Ottawa native after one day on the wire.
The Minnesota Wild have claimed defenseman Cameron Crotty off waivers from the Ottawa Senators, according to Elliotte Friedman.
Ottawa put the 27-year-old on the wire just one day earlier.
Crotty is no stranger to Minnesota.
He signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Wild on July 1, 2024, and spent most of that season with AHL Iowa.
He got into one NHL game for the club, a 3-2 overtime win over the Vancouver Canucks on April 12, 2025.
Why Ottawa let him go
The Senators needed the roster space, with Thomas Chabot closing in on a return against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.
Crotty only played three games for Ottawa this season, going scoreless with a +1 rating.
Last year he had one assist in six games with the Senators while spending most of his time in Belleville, where he finished with 10 points in 49 games.
That is the profile of a reliable AHL defender who gets the call when injuries hit the blue line.
What he brings to Minnesota
Crotty is a 6-foot-3 right-shot defenseman who was a third-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes in 2017.
The Ottawa native played his college hockey at Boston University and carries a cap hit of $812,500 on a two-year deal he signed with his hometown team last August.
Nobody expects a depth claim like this to shake up the standings in the Western Conference.
Still, the Wild get another right-shot option on the back end, and it is a player who already knows the organization.
Moves like this tend to matter most when injuries pile up, and every team deals with that sooner or later.
Either that or it's preparation for a Quinn Hughes move. Crazier things have happened, right?
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Previously on House Of Hockey