It isn't rare; switching a defenseman to forward or vice versa, but the position switch rarely works despite the Minnesota Wild having one of the more successful swaps in hockey history with Brent Burns. That transition may have been a matter of playstyle, but in Tuesday's game against the Arizona Coyotes, we saw another high-profile Wild prospect make a move, this time from defenseman to forward. But unlike the Burns situation, it was a matter of necessity.
Frederick Gaudreau missed his first game of the season. The reason? COVID protocol.
Head coach Dean Evason and his staff didn't find out until partway through the morning skate on gameday.