Just a couple of days after opening training camp, the Wild will send a team up to Winnipeg this afternoon for a 7 p.m. against the Jets.

Before the game, the Wild made some player moves. It sent forward Damien Giroux and defenseman Jacob Golden back to their Ontario Hockey League teams (Giroux to Saginaw and Golden to London); and released forwards Mitch McLain, Darian Pilon, Drake Pilon and defenseman Tate Olson from their amateur contracts.Olson will go to training camp with Iowa.

Tonight, the Wild will use a handful of bubble guys, including backup goalies Dereck Baribeau and Andrew Hammond (lineups below).

In today's preview in the Star Tribune, coach Bruce Boudreau spelled out what he expects.

"I would like to see everyone playing hard and playing with the right structure and competing," Boudreau said. "Whether you play preseason [or] you're practicing, we want to see a lot of compete and hopefully we'll get it."

Hammond, expected to start, signed a one-year, two-way contract in the summer to contend for the backup job with Alex Stalock.

"Just gives me an opportunity to kind of establish myself again and prove that I still have a lot of games left in the tank," said Hammond, who emerged in the NHL amid a 20-1-2 run with the Senators in 2015 that helped Ottawa climb into a playoff spot.

Hammond underwent hip surgery before last season and was eventually traded to the Avalanche. When Jonathan Bernier got hurt in the playoffs, Hammond took over in the crease and did an admirable job against the Predators before Colorado was eliminated in six games.

In case you missed it, some weekend stories ...

Feature on Jordan Greenway here ...

Back-and-forth with Randball on the Wild staying put here ...

Ryan Suter talks about his recovery here ...

Here is the lineup card for tonight's game, posted by the Jets: