With the intention of ending his contract, the Wild placed forward prospect Vladislav Firstov on unconditional waivers, the organisation said on Tuesday. Michael Russo of The Athletic broke the story first.
To enable Firstov to return to Russia for the upcoming season, it’s most likely a mutual termination. The 22-year-old was temporarily sent to North America to finish 2023–24 with AHL Iowa after spending the majority of the previous two seasons on loan to Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the Continental Hockey League.
In his ten games with the team, he recorded two goals and two assists. This is his first since making just one appearance at the start of 2022–2023 before moving to the KHL. Firstov had one season left on his rookie deal and was eligible to become a restricted free agent in 2025; however, if he clears waivers, he will be eligible to sign with any team and sign for an unrestricted free agent status right away.
The 2019 second-round pick will have only appeared in 19 games for the Wild overall, all of which were with Iowa. After becoming pro out of UConn in 2022, he finished with two goals and six points in portions of three seasons. Firstov, who performed admirably in 114 games over the previous two seasons with 28 goals, 61 points, and 110 PIMs, looks set to return to Torpedo.
Firstov will not be available for the upcoming season, meaning the Wild have signed 35 of the 50 possible regular player contracts.