Wild claim Travis Dermott off waivers after placing Jake Middleton on LTIR

With Jake Middleton set to miss significant time after suffering a hand injury Thursday night, Minnesota Wild claimed left-handed defenseman Travis Dermott off waivers Friday afternoon from the Edmonton Oilers.

Dermott, 27, has 16 goals and 62 points and is a plus-12 in 339 career NHL games over eight seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Arizona Coyotes and Oilers. He has no points and is minus-3 in 10 games this season.

According to league sources, Middleton broke a finger on his right hand on his first shift against the Oilers when he was hit by Evan Bouchard’s wrist shot. He was expected to undergo surgery Friday and also be evaluated for another potential injury to his hand.

The Wild placed Middleton on long-term injured reserve, meaning he will miss at least 10 games and 24 days.

Coach John Hynes said before the waiver claim that he did not know if Middleton was undergoing surgery, but that his status is week-to-week, not month-to-month.

“He’s played great for us,” Hynes said. “He brings a lot to the table. Every time you take damage, you will lose what the player brings. But it is also a possibility. You don’t replace the player when he’s out, but other guys get opportunities and sometimes, depending on the situation, people share those roles.

“Maybe someone will step into the role. That’s all you can do in these situations is try to help and figure out the best way to work around what we’re missing with Middsy.”

After Friday’s optional training, Hynes was supposed to meet with defender Jonas Brodin and right winger Mats Zuccarello to see how they are doing. He didn’t yet know if their potential return could be Saturday against Philadelphia, Sunday against Vegas or Wednesday against Florida.

It appears Zuccarello, who has been on LTIR, is closer to returning and the Wild would be more cautious with Brodin’s upper body injury. Both will need to be fully licensed doctors before they can return.

Dermott is a good skater, can move the puck and make a good first pass, competes low in the defensive zone but is not overly physical, one NHL pro scout told Athletics.

“He can eliminate and limit and skates well enough to support the rush, but he’s not a real offensive player. He’s more of a defensive puck-moving type,” the scout said.

Essentially, he adds experienced depth, which is what the Wild lack right now with Middleton hurt and Jonas Brodin working his way back from an upper-body injury.

Dermott is not a power-play guy. He can kill penalties though.

The Wild’s penalty kill ranks 30th in the NHL at 70.4 percent.

The 6-foot Dermott played on the Coyotes’ penalty kill in 47 of his 50 games last year and got 50 percent of the PK minutes in those games. The Coyotes, of course, ranked 25th on the penalty kill last season at 76.3 percent, which was slightly better than the 30th-ranked Wild at 74.5 percent.

It is unclear when Dermott will be able to make his debut for the Wild. He is from Newmarket, Ontario, and may not have an active US work visa. Typically, these expire when one’s contract ends, and Dermott signed with the Oilers as a league-minimum free agent in October.

“I think those are the challenges you face,” Hynes said of the injuries piling up and coming off a 7-1 loss to Edmonton. “When you win, do you want to get too high on the hog and then your game starts to slip? We haven’t seen that. When we’ve lost, we haven’t really come back with a strong game and found a way to win it on.

“Now when you get injuries, OK, that’s the situation we’re in. How are we going to make it work? I think when you have that belief and you have that focus and mindset, it starts with that. And I think when you have a strong structure and identity and how you want to play, that gives you the best chance to get through different situations.”

(Photo: Steph Chambers/Getty Images)