At the opening of Minnesota Wild training camp, Gustav Olofsson was expected to have an inside track to the 7th or potentially 8th Defense spot on the NHL roster. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune is now reporting that Olofsson injured his shoulder on Monday against Winnipeg.
This is an unfortunate setback for Olofsson, who was healthy all last season after 3 consecutive injury shortened seasons. He has had a history of shoulder injuries in the past, and this will do him no favors in trying to secure a roster spot.
With the injury, and assuming that his fragility is a major red-flag for the Minnesota Wild management and coaches, we now have a potential open spot available to be won coming out of training camp.