Jake Middleton News: Collects assist in return

Middleton posted an assist and two PIM in Saturday's 5-2 win over the Oilers.

Middleton missed five games with an upper-body injury. Since he exited the lineup following a Dec. 8 injury versus the Kraken, the Wild bolstered their blue line by trading for Quinn Hughes. That likely means Middleton will be confined to the third pairing moving forward, limiting his already low fantasy upside. The defenseman is at just seven assists with 22 shots on net, 43 hits, 43 blocked shots, 37 PIM and a plus-2 rating over 29 appearances. Middleton is likely to miss the 20-point mark for the first time in three years.