Wild activate forward Jordan Greenway

When the Minnesota Wild sent forward Mason Shaw back to the AHL Wednesday, it was a sign that injured forward Jordan Greenway was nearing a return to the active roster. Thursday, his return was made official. The Wild announced that Greenway has been activated off injured reserve, and he is expected to make his season debut when the Wild take on the Vancouver Canucks.

Greenway, 25, has missed the first few Wild contests recovering from the shoulder surgeries he underwent this summer. The Wild are still looking for their first victory of the season, and the return of Greenway could help them get back into the win column. Last season, Greenway was one third of the team’s “GREEF” line, skating with Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno. Together on that line, each of the three players enjoyed extremely successful seasons on both ends of the ice.

While it might take some time for Greenway to return to playing as he did last season, he could represent an immediate improvement to the team’s defensive fortunes if his old line is reunited. The Wild’s ability to keep pucks out of the net has been under great scrutiny in the early days of this season, so getting a true shutdown line back on the ice could go a long way towards righting the ship on that front.

If nothing else, though, the Wild are sure to be happy to have Greenway, ever energetic and hard-working, back on the ice.