Wild narrows roster, then adds Ryan Carter

No news was good news for a handful of Wild players Monday.

Christian Folin arrived at Xcel Energy Center bright and early. The defenseman went for a workout, his heart pounding. Afterward, Folin discovered he wasn't bound for demotion to Iowa of the AHL by walking in the locker room and finding his practice jersey in his stall.

Same for Matt Dumba. And Jason Zucker. And, for now, Stu Bickel.

Unfortunately for Ilya Bryz- galov, Cody Almond and Stephane Veilleux, they got called in to see General Manager Chuck Fletcher. Bryzgalov was released from his tryout, although Fletcher didn't close the door on eventually signing Bryzgalov to a two-way or minor league contract. Almond and Veilleux were placed on waivers and will be sent to Iowa if they clear Tuesday.

Almond has the option of returning to his Swiss team.

"We'll see how the next 24 hours goes," Almond said.

"There's usually nothing final about final cuts, but we feel that the guys that are here deserve to be here," coach Mike Yeo said. "[Zucker, Folin, Dumba and Bickel] needed to make this team. None of them had a spot here. They had very strong camps."

A few hours after practice ended, however, the Wild signed forward Ryan Carter to a one-year, $725,000 deal. The White Bear Lake native, who won a Stanley Cup with Anaheim in 2007 and went to the Finals with New Jersey in 2012, is expected to practice Tuesday and debut in the season opener against Colorado on Thursday.

"I'm beyond excited," said Carter, 31, who spent the past month in the Devils' training camp and has 68 points in 360 NHL games. "Everything away from the rink aside, I get a chance to play with Zach [Parise] again. And when you look at the team and the roster and to have a chance to win, that's extremely important."

Fletcher said the coaches felt strongly that Carter would be an "upgrade" and provide more options in terms of building rosters on a nightly basis. He's a hard-working, good-skating checker who can play center or wing and kill penalties.

Justin Fontaine is on injured reserve because of a gluteus injury. He practiced Monday and hopes to play Thursday, although the Wild will be cautious because he missed much of camp. Once he's activated, the Wild will have to assign somebody to Iowa. The likeliest candidate is Bickel, although $3 million fourth-line forward Kyle Brodziak has been on the trading block since June.

Fletcher said the Wild might be shuttling players back and forth to Iowa early in the season based on what lineup the coaches want on a nightly basis.

The big news Monday was Folin, 23, and Dumba, 20, making the team and being paired together at practice inside the top six. Veteran defensemen Keith Ballard and Nate Prosser were the extras.

"I put everything out there that I had," Folin said. "After the Saturday night game [against St. Louis], I just thought to myself, 'There's nothing else I can do.' I was just hoping for the best."

The Wild debated about Dumba, who could benefit from playing big minutes in the AHL. But he had a goal and four power-play assists in five exhibition games, and Dumba adds a dynamic dimension to a team that wants to get more offense from its blue-liners.

Dumba was outstanding in the preseason finale against the Blues.

"I would say before that game, we maybe had some decisions to make, whereas after the game there was no decision to be made," Yeo said.

Zucker, who has eight goals and four assists in 47 games, made the team out of camp for the first time.

"I want to prove to myself that I'm not a callup and I can play in this league," Zucker, 22, said. "I'm definitely not satisfied with it. I want to get better and I want to get better every day. I don't want to be just another guy. I want to be somebody who helps this team win on a daily basis."

As for Bryzgalov, Fletcher simply wasn't willing to carry three goalies and Darcy Kuemper and Niklas Backstrom are healthy. Fletcher told Bryzgalov to return home to New Jersey, spend time with his family and they'll talk in the next few weeks to perhaps "find a way to keep him sharp and keep him ready in case something happens here or even elsewhere.

"I'm a little perplexed why he can't get a job in this league There's just a giant chasm between the perception of Bryz and the reality. He's a quality goalie and a great guy and fit very well on our team."