Less than 24 hours after the Minnesota Timberwolves made a trade that will allow Tyus Jones to make his NBA debut for his hometown team, the Minnesota Wild have done the same with defenseman Mike Reilly.
Michael Russo of the Star Tribune reports that Reilly is expected to sign with the Wild as early as Friday afternoon. Russo said it’s all but a done deal “unless something backfires.”
Reilly was originally drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2011 but decided to test the free-agent market before turning pro. This past season as a junior with the Golden Gophers, Reilly was named an All-American blue liner and was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year for a second year in a row.
He recently played for Team USA at the World Hockey Championships in the Czech Republic.
Earlier Friday, a reporter out of Montreal tweeted that Reilly remained undecided but the Wild, Blackhawks and Penguins were the only teams in the mix.
Defenseman Mike Reilly still hasn't made up his mind on his next destination. Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Chicago the only ones in the mix.
— Marc Antoine Godin (@MAGodin) June 26, 2015
Per Trib Live out of Pittsburgh, as of 10 a.m CT Friday Penguins General Manager Jim Rutherford believed his team still had a chance at Reilly.
“We were told that a decision would be coming at some point,” Rutherford said. “We weren’t told that we weren’t still part of it. I take it that we’re still in the mix.”
Reilly’s father is a minority owner of the Wild, and his two brothers – Connor and Ryan – also play for the Gophers. Ryan will be a senior and Connor will be a redshirt junior. All three played high school hockey at Holy Angels.
