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Kirill Kaprizov

Wild Recall Liam Öhgren And Cameron Crotty

March 23, 2025 at 6:07 pm CDT | by Paul Griser Leave a Comment

Minnesota Wild President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin announced today the team has recalled forward Liam Öhgren and defender Cameron Crotty from Iowa on an emergency basis, per a team announcement. The Wild will face-off against the Dallas Stars on Monday, and forward Marcus Foligno (who has missed three straight contests) remains day-to-day as he works his way back from an upper-body injury.

Öhgren was just reassigned to the AHL yesterday after being recalled by the Wild under an emergency loan to fill in for a sick Marcus Johansson who couldn’t suit up in a recent game against the Seattle Kraken. Öhgren has played in 35 games for the Wild this season, recording five points (including a goal in the game against the Kraken). The 20-year-old was Minnesota’s first round selection in the 2022 draft. While he’s struggled to make an offensive impact with the Wild in limited action this season, he has posted 28 points in 29 games in the AHL on the year.

Crotty has spent the entire year in Iowa, where he has registered zero goals and eight assists in 56 games. Originally a third-round selection by the Arizona Coyotes, Crotty has laced up in 275 career AHL games but has only skated in one NHL contest – a cup of coffee with the Coyotes during the 2023-24 season. Crotty, 25, also played three years at Boston University.

The Wild did receive good news with the return of defender Jonas Brodin, who played Saturday after being out of the lineup since Feb. 28 with a lower-body injury. Brodin has struggled with injuries throughout the season, suiting up in just 39 games. But when healthy, the 31-year-old has recorded 19 points and a plus-11 rating. And in addition to Brodin’s return, the Wild are expecting superstar Kirill Kaprizov to start skating as soon as this upcoming week, per The Athletic’s Michael Russo. The goal, according to Russo, would be to get Kaprizov a few regular season games to knock some rust off ahead of the playoffs. The return of Kaprizov would no doubt spark Minnesota’s sputtering offensive. Despite currently finding themselves in the top wild card position in the west, the Wild have only scored 195 goals on the season and are the only Western Conference team currently in playoff position with a negative goal differential on the year.

 

Bill Guerin| Minnesota Wild Cameron Crotty| Jonas Brodin| Kirill Kaprizov| Liam Ohgren| Marcus Johansson

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Wild Notes: Brodin, Bogosian, Deadline Plans

March 2, 2025 at 2:35 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain Leave a Comment

Another day, another longer-term injury for the Minnesota Wild. NHL.com writer Jessi Pierce shared that defenseman Jonas Brodin is expected to miss the next few weeks with a lower-body injury. One can reasonably assume that Brodin will be placed on the injured reserve relatively soon, but Minnesota didn’t announce any such roster move, despite confirming the news.

The 13-year veteran for the Wild exited the team’s recent game against the Colorado Avalanche after playing in only 15:47 of action. He earned a -2 rating while blocking four shots and putting one on the net. As one of the better defensive-minded players on the roster, Brodin’s exit from Minnesota’s lineup won’t help the team improve upon the 3.75 GA/G average they sustained throughout February.

Brodin, who’s dealt with multiple injuries the last few years, joins forwards Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov as Wild players out with longer-term injuries. Thankfully, there is some positive news on the injury front. Pierce also mentioned defenseman Zach Bogosian will return today from his minor lower-body injury. The former third-overall pick of the 2008 NHL Draft missed Minnesota’s intra-divisional matchup on Friday against the Avalanche.

Although this is a perfect time to replace injured players in the NHL calendar, the Wild aren’t expected to do much else. Pierce later shared that Minnesota is expecting back Brodin, Eriksson Ek, and Kaprizov before the regular season’s conclusion, which will have some financial limitations.

The Wild made one addition yesterday by acquiring Gustav Nyquist (50% retained) from the Nashville Predators for a 2026 second-round pick. Still, they later had to reassign forwards Marat Khusnutdinov and Liam Ohgren to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, to make the money work.

Because of the salary cap burden, general manager Bill Guerin shared with The Athletic’s Michael Russo that any further trade before Friday’s deadline must be “penny in, penny out.” Normally, Bogosian’s, Jonathon Merrill’s, or Declan Chisholm’s contracts would be reasonable trade fodder in a money-in, money-out deal. Unfortunately, the numerous injuries on Minnesota’s blue line should preclude them from moving out additional depth. The quote from Guerin likely means the Wild are done making moves for the deadline season.

Injury| Minnesota Wild Joel Eriksson Ek| Jonas Brodin| Kirill Kaprizov| Zach Bogosian

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Central Notes: Vejmelka, Kaprizov, Manson, Nichushkin

February 22, 2025 at 8:01 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain 5 Comments

Earlier today, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that the Utah Hockey Club is engaged in extension negotiations with netminder Karel Vejmelka. Although no deal is imminent, Dreger adds that Vejmelka could become an interesting trade piece at the deadline should he and Utah not agree on a palatable salary for both sides.

It’s a good season for Vejmelka to find comparable situations. Kevin Lankinen, Logan Thompson, and Mackenzie Blackwood have signed extensions with their respective teams this year giving Vejmelka plenty of ammunition to work with. He’s arguably had the best season of his career this year with a 13-15-4 record in 31 starts with a .909 save percentage and a 2.57 goals-against average.

Unfortunately, unless there’s a major injury between now and the deadline, there isn’t much desire for goaltending in the trade market. Most if not all contending teams have a formidable situation between the pipes, with the Philadelphia Flyers likely being the only hypothetical option as a rental. Even then, the Flyers don’t seem to have much appetite for buying regardless of their position in the standings. Unless a non-playoff team is looking for a goaltender and Vejmelka is open to separate extension negotiations, all signs indicate he’ll remain with Utah beyond the trade deadline.

Other Central notes:

  • Exiting the 4 Nations Face-Off break, the Minnesota Wild were expecting the return of star forward Kirill Kaprizov shortly after. However, it appears the Wild are still a ways away from the return of their highest-scoring forward. In an interview on KFAN 100.3, general manager Bill Guerin said, “I think he’s going to be out longer than we originally expected. How much, I cannot answer.” Kaprizov had surgery in late January to repair a lower-body injury and was given a four-week minimum recovery timeline.
  • Neither forward Valeri Nichushkin nor defenseman Josh Manson are expected to join the Colorado Avalanche on their upcoming road trip. In an interview with Evan Rawal of The Denver Gazette, head coach Jared Bednar said, “He’s not coming on the (road) trip. Him and (Josh Manson) will both be here getting some work done.” The news is expected for Manson as he’s been dealing with a lower-body injury for much of the regular season. However, the news can’t be seen as anything other than disappointing for Nichushkin who hasn’t suited up since New Year’s Eve despite practicing multiple times.

Colorado Avalanche| Injury| Minnesota Wild| Utah Mammoth Josh Manson| Karel Vejmelka| Kirill Kaprizov| Valeri Nichushkin

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Wild Move Kirill Kaprizov To LTIR, Jonas Brodin Expected To Return

February 2, 2025 at 1:36 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley Leave a Comment

The Minnesota Wild have moved star forward Kirill Kaprizov to long-term injured reserve retroactive to his most recent game on January 26th. This move will open up additional cap space and roster flexibility, which Michael Russo of The Athletic suggests could indicate the return of top defenseman Jonas Brodin. Russo shares that Brodin will likely join the team in Boston this weekend and prepare to make his return to the ice on Tuesday. Brodin has missed Minnesota’s last 12 games with a lower-body injury suffered after blocking a shot in the team’s January 7th win over the St. Louis Blues. Brodin was placed on injured reserve 11 days later, then shifted to LTIR on January 28th. Tuesday’s game against the Boston Bruins would mark the soonest that he’d be able to return.

This news comes as sweet and sour for a Minnesota roster that’s faced terrible injury luck all season long. Brodin has played in just 31 of the team’s 53 games this season, but he’s continued to perform as a top-pair option when he’s healthy. He has recorded four goals and 16 points, six penalty minutes, and a +10 on the season. He’s also blocked 67 shots, second-most on the Wild behind Jacob Middleton. Brodin has managed top-end stats while averaging north of 23 minutes of ice time each game. That number – like many of his stats – ranks second on the defense behind Brock Faber’s near-25 minutes of ice time on average. Brodin will be launched back to Minnesota’s top line as soon as he can handle it, especially after a 6-0 trampling courtesy of the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

But the sour of the move comes via an extended absence for the Wild’s superstar. Kaprizov has undergone surgery for his lower-body injury that went well, per NHL.com’s Joe Smith. But he’ll now be forced out of the lineup through the rest of February, at least. He has been formally designated as week-to-week, which could stretch his prognosis out even further. Kaprizov was the beating heart of the Wild lineup prior to injury. He led the team in goals (23), assists (29), and points (52) through just 37 appearances. That’s an 82-game scoring pace of 115 points, which would have shattered Minnesota’s previous single-season scoring record – 108 points, set by Kaprizov in 2021-22. He also earned third spot on that list with 96 points in 75 games last year. Minnesota sits firmly in a playoff spot as February rolls around, giving them the chance to focus on getting Kaprizov back to full-health before the postseason begins.

Injury| Minnesota Wild| NHL| Newsstand| Transactions Jonas Brodin| Kirill Kaprizov

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Kirill Kaprizov To Undergo Lower-Body Surgery, Out Minimum Four Weeks

January 28, 2025 at 1:34 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 12 Comments

1:34 p.m.: The Wild moved Kaprizov to IR to open up a roster spot, per a team announcement. They also shifted Brodin from IR to LTIR retroactive to Jan. 7 to open up the cap space for a forward recall, ruling him out of the team’s next two games at minimum.

10:35 a.m.: Wild star winger Kirill Kaprizov missed Tuesday’s practice and will undergo surgery to address his nagging lower-body injury, according to Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic. Russo and Smith report the surgery, which would address what’s believed to be a muscular issue in his groin and is scheduled for Friday, carries an expected recovery time of six weeks. General manager Bill Guerin handed down an official week-to-week designation with a minimum four-week window, per Jessi Pierce of NHL.com.

The loss of Kaprizov is less devastating than when he missed 12 games over the past month-plus, with most of his absence set to fall while the NHL schedule stops for the 4 Nations Face-Off. They still have six games left before the break, though, and their best player will join top shutdown defenseman Jonas Brodin and middle-six winger Marcus Johansson on injured reserve for that stretch. While the ageless Mats Zuccarello and breakout center Marco Rossi still form two-thirds of a formidable top line, there’s simply no replacement for Kaprizov as the Wild desperately try to hold onto their top-three spot in the Central Division heading into the break.

While second-line winger Matt Boldy is a top-line player in most markets and would likely do well with a bump in ice time, the 27-year-old Kaprizov has solidified himself as a top-three winger in the league this season. In 37 games, the 5’10” lefty has tallied 23 goals and 29 assists for 52 points with a +19 rating. His 1.41 points per game are fifth in the league, and tops among left-wingers, not a level of production Boldy or the other few high-upside offensive options in the organization can aim to touch.

Boldy slid into Kaprizov’s minutes during his previous absence, doing well offensively but causing the line’s two-way dominance to falter. He posted five goals and six assists for 11 points over the 12-game span, but the Boldy-Rossi-Zuccarello trio has conceded 3.61 expected goals against per 60 minutes compared to just 2.38 xGA/60 with Kaprizov on that line, per MoneyPuck. With Johansson also missing from the top nine, 2022 first-round pick Liam Ohgren is likely to get an extended run in increased minutes. It’s a shot in the dark, though – Ohgren has just two points in 13 NHL showings this season, both assists against the Avalanche on Jan. 20.

Kaprizov will be back shortly after the trade deadline if he undergoes surgery this week and the six-week recovery window holds true. That won’t allow Minnesota to keep Kaprizov’s cap hit on long-term injured reserve for the remainder of the regular season, but it should allow them additional options for short-term flexibility as they look to add to their roster. They’ve been linked to Islanders pending UFA pivot Brock Nelson, and The Fourth Period reports they’ve at least demonstrated loose interest in Canucks stars J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. But they currently project to have just $200K in deadline space, requiring them to move out salary in any deal they make, plus asking for maximum retention on the other end.

Injury| Minnesota Wild| Newsstand| Transactions Jonas Brodin| Kirill Kaprizov

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Wild Activate Kirill Kaprizov, Jared Spurgeon

January 23, 2025 at 9:01 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 2 Comments

Jan. 23: The Wild officially activated Kaprizov from LTIR and Spurgeon from IR Thursday morning, per a team announcement. Jiříček was indeed reassigned to AHL Iowa yesterday, clearing the cap space for the former’s reinstatement.

Jan. 22: The Wild look to have superstar winger Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon back in their lineup Thursday against Utah, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports. Both were full participants in Wednesday’s practice.

Kaprizov, 27, has missed 12 games with a nagging groin injury and has not played in nearly a month. On Dec. 23, the date of his last appearance, he was tied for second in the league in goals (23) and fourth in points (50) through 34 games.

Spurgeon, 35, returns after a slew-foot from Predators winger Zachary L’Heureux caused him a lower-body injury on New Year’s Eve. L’Heureux has since served and returned from a three-game suspension for the play, while Spurgeon missed nine contests, assuming he’s cleared to draw into the lineup tomorrow.

Minnesota entered Wednesday with a pair of roster spots, so taking Spurgeon off standard injured reserve won’t be a problem. However, Kaprizov is on long-term injured reserve, and the Wild lack the cap space to reinstate his $9MM cap hit.

They don’t need to open up a ton of flexibility, though, so they have a few ways of creating the required funds quickly. The simplest and likeliest is sending down defenseman David Jiříček, who projects to exit the lineup with Spurgeon returning anyway, Russo adds. They could also retroactively place defenseman Jonas Brodin on LTIR with his lower-body injury if he’s due to remain out until at least Feb. 1 or place defenseman Travis Dermott on waivers with the intent to send him to AHL Iowa.

Kaprizov looks to skate in his usual top-line role alongside Marco Rossi and Mats Zuccarello, according to Minnesota’s line rushes at today’s skate. Spurgeon will return to his new role as the Wild’s No. 2 right-shot defenseman behind Brock Faber with Declan Chisholm on his left flank as usual top-four option Brodin remains sidelined.

Despite missing an extended period, Kaprizov still has a nine-point cushion ahead of Matt Boldy for the team lead in points. He also leads the club with a +21 rating and 4.5 GF/60 at even strength.

While not the Norris nomination threat he once was, Spurgeon is still a comfortable top-four piece coming off left hip and back surgeries that capped his 2023-24 campaign at 16 appearances. In 37 contests this year, he’s posted four goals and nine assists for 13 points with a plus-three rating, averaging 20:43 per game. That’s still the 35-year-old’s lowest usage since his rookie season with Minnesota 14 years ago, though.

Although it hasn’t translated into a dominant rating, Spurgeon still tracks as the Wild’s best possession-controlling defenseman, at least at even strength. His 52.5 CF% leads Minnesota blue-liners and ranks second on the team behind Marcus Foligno’s 52.7.

Minnesota Wild| Newsstand Jared Spurgeon| Kirill Kaprizov

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Latest On The Wild’s Injuries

January 17, 2025 at 1:45 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 4 Comments

The Wild have not had a pleasant past few weeks. They haven’t had a fully healthy lineup since Nov. 10, and injuries have really come to the forefront recently. Cap restrictions forced them to transfer star winger Kirill Kaprizov to long-term injured reserve yesterday.

Things are beginning to turn around, albeit slowly. Top defenseman Brock Faber is expected to return to the lineup tomorrow in Nashville after missing four games with an upper-body injury, head coach John Hynes told NHL.com’s Jessi Pierce. He also confirmed that winger Jakub Lauko will play after being previously activated from LTIR on Thursday.

They’ll still remain without Kaprizov for their next two games, though, as neither he nor captain Jared Spurgeon will make their brief Central Division road trip, Hynes added. Kaprizov is eligible to come back off LTIR at any time after already missing the required time with his lower-body injury, while Spurgeon remains sidelined due to the lower-body injury he sustained on a slew foot from Predators forward Zachary L’Heureux on New Year’s Eve.

Stalwart defender Jonas Brodin is also staying home while he continues to nurse a lower-body injury and Marcus Johansson is unavailable after his recent concussion landed him on IR yesterday, so that makes four roster regulars, and impactful ones at that, sidelined for at least Minnesota’s next two games. All of their roster maneuvering allowed the club to recall forwards Brendan Gaunce, Liam Ohgren, and Devin Shore from AHL Iowa over the past 24 hours, per PuckPedia, who detailed how the order in which those transactions were executed affected their delicate salary cap situation. After the moves, they’re back to having ample breathing room with $7.45MM in their LTIR pool, although they’ll need to figure out how to reinstate Kaprizov when he’s ready to come back in the next week or so.

While the Wild have understandably dropped three of their last four games, they’re still in a battle for second in the Central Division with a 27-14-4 record. They’re a virtual playoff lock at a 96.5% chance and still have a 9.7% chance of winning their second division title in franchise history, per Hockey Reference.

While Gaunce, Ohgren and Shore bring a decent mix of veteran professional experience and, in Ohgren’s case, long-term top-six upside, they’ve combined for just one assist in 38 appearances this season. Each has averaged under 10 minutes per game and posted ghastly possession numbers, particularly in Gaunce’s case with a 29.2 CF% at even strength in five showings.

Minnesota Wild| Transactions Brendan Gaunce| Brock Faber| Devin Shore| Jakub Lauko| Jared Spurgeon| Jonas Brodin| Kirill Kaprizov| Liam Ohgren| Marcus Johansson

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Snapshots: Islanders, Marchment, Kaprizov, Roest

January 9, 2025 at 9:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

There has been plenty of speculation in recent weeks about whether the Islanders might consider moving veterans Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri by the March 7th trade deadline.  However, speaking with reporters today including Newsday’s Andrew Gross, GM Lou Lamoriello indicated that the concept is “not even a thought in my mind right now”.  Both players are pending unrestricted free agents and New York went into today’s action in last in the Metropolitan Division, only two points up on Buffalo who sat last in the Eastern Conference coming into tonight.  That said, the second Wild Card spot is still within striking distance so don’t expect Lamoriello to even consider selling for a while yet.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • In a recent appearance on The Ticket (audio link), Stars head coach Peter DeBoer indicated that winger Mason Marchment is still at least a couple of weeks away from returning to the lineup. He’s working his way back from a head injury that DeBoer specified were fractures in his nose and facial area.  The 29-year-old was off to a solid start before getting injured, tallying 12 goals and 15 assists along with 44 hits in his first 33 games.
  • While the Wild were once again without top winger Kirill Kaprizov tonight, a return could be on the horizon. Michael Russo of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that Kaprizov has skated for the last two days and that there’s a chance he will travel with the team for their upcoming two-game road trip if there’s a possibility he can play in one of the games.  The 27-year-old was off to a flying start before sustaining a lower-body injury that has kept him out since the holiday break.  Kaprizov has 23 goals and 27 assists in 34 games so far, good for ninth in league scoring despite being out for more than two weeks now.
  • While Predators prospect Austin Roest is eligible to play in the minors this season, WHL Everett announced that Nashville has informed them that they will return him to junior once he recovers from his injury sustained back in training camp. The 20-year-old was a sixth-round pick in 2023 and has already signed his entry-level deal.  Roest has surpassed the 70-point mark in the last two seasons with the Silvertips and will get a final few months with them before turning pro next season.

Dallas Stars| Minnesota Wild| Nashville Predators| New York Islanders| Snapshots| WHL Austin Roest| Brock Nelson| Kirill Kaprizov| Kyle Palmieri| Mason Marchment

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Guerin: Wild Will Be Cautious With Kirill Kaprizov’s Return

January 3, 2025 at 10:28 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 2 Comments

The Wild have been without superstar winger Kirill Kaprizov since the holiday break with a lower-body issue. It’s caused him to miss four games and will hold him out for at least one more, although general manager Bill Guerin says they’ll keep him sidelined for as long as the team needs to in order to allow him to fully recover.

“The thing is that we don’t want him to come back and push through,” Guerin told Michael Russo of The Athletic on Thursday. “He could, but it could make something worse.”

As Guerin relayed, the Wild have already been burned once this season by a player returning too soon into their recovery from a groin problem – which Kaprizov is speculated to have, but Guerin wouldn’t confirm. Depth winger Jakub Lauko sustained a groin injury against the Jets on Nov. 25 and returned to the lineup after missing six games, but reaggravated the muscle issue less than a week later and remains on injured reserve without a return date on the horizon.

“We need [Kaprizov] for the long haul,” Guerin continued. “We don’t just need him for a couple games in January. We need him to get healthy and feel better, so we’re trying to do the right thing and just look at it from the long point of view.”

Before his injury, Kaprizov was tracking to finish in the top 10 in Hart Trophy voting for the second time in his career. The dynamic-as-ever 27-year-old remains fifth in the league with 1.47 points per game after notching 23 goals and 27 assists for 50 points through 34 games.

Twenty of those 23 goals have come at even strength, still tied with the Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl for the league lead. His +21 rating is also still second among forwards behind the Golden Knights’ Jack Eichel (+23) despite his absence.

The Wild have gone 3-1-0 in their star scorer’s absence, including an impressive 4-3 road shootout win over the Eastern Conference-leading Capitals last night. Any points they can compile in the short term with Kaprizov and top-four defensemen Jacob Middleton and Jared Spurgeon out of the lineup are crucial to their chances of holding onto the top-three placing in the Central Division that they’ve held for most of the year.

With all the injury-related drama surrounding Minnesota recently, they’re still in quite a good place in the standings. Their 52 points and .667 points percentage are both third in the Western Conference and second in the Central. Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic’s projection model still projects them to finish with 105 points, narrowly edging out the Avalanche and Stars to hold onto second place in the division, even factoring in the expected length of their injured players’ absences.

A good portion of Minnesota’s success in the interim must be awarded to the resurgent play of netminder Filip Gustavsson, whose .924 SV% ranks third in the league among qualified netminders after a trying 2023-24 season. That includes a .937 mark in his three starts since the holiday break.

He’ll need to keep that up with the Wild’s offense clicking at a middling 2.95 goals per game, which is only good enough for 20th in the league despite Kaprizov only missing 12.8% of their schedule thus far. Marco Rossi has been Minnesota’s top scorer since the break in Kaprizov’s absence, notching three goals and a pair of assists in his four outings.

Injury| Minnesota Wild Kirill Kaprizov

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Wild Place Kirill Kaprizov On Injured Reserve, Jared Spurgeon To Miss Time

January 1, 2025 at 11:02 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 5 Comments

The Wild are placing star winger Kirill Kaprizov on injured reserve retroactive to Dec. 23, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports. He’s eligible to come off at any time after missing the last three games with a minor lower-body injury but will still miss at least their next two games, Russo adds. The move creates roster space for a recall from AHL Iowa in place of captain Jared Spurgeon, who left last night’s win over the Predators with a right leg injury and did not return after he was on the receiving end of a slew-foot from Nashville rookie Zachary L’Heureux.

Minnesota hasn’t commented on how long Spurgeon might be out of the lineup, but he’ll miss a game or two at the very least – likely longer. The 35-year-old, who’s missed 72 games since the beginning of last season with back and hip issues that resulted in significant midseason surgery in 2023-24, did not put weight on his right leg as he was helped off the ice (video via Nick Kieser of 102.5 The Game). L’Heureux was assessed a match penalty on the play, although the league’s Department of Player Safety hasn’t yet issued any supplemental discipline.

Spurgeon is still capable of top-pairing minutes and has continued to put up stellar possession numbers in his twilight years, but his point totals haven’t recovered since he dropped from 0.62 per game in 2021-22 to 0.43 per game in 2023-24. Add in the emergence of sophomore Brock Faber as the Wild’s new No. 1 defender, and there have been fewer opportunities for Spurgeon to contribute offensively. He has four goals and 13 points in 32 games this season, working out to a 0.41 points-per-game pace that would stand as his lowest since 2015-16, not counting last year’s 16-game stint in the lineup.

Still, Spurgeon is an incredibly important on-ice and off-ice piece to a Wild team trying to get out of the mud. After a hot start to the season, they’re .500 since the beginning of December and have been hamstrung by injuries to star players, a trend that’s unfortunately continuing into the New Year. Despite the rough patch, they accumulated enough points early on to keep them with a 23-11-4 record, still good for second in the Central Division. The 2008 Islanders sixth-round pick has never suited up for anyone other than the Wild, and his 899 games played rank second in franchise history behind Mikko Koivu. No one’s done better than his career +120 rating for the Wild, either.

Minnesota is already without Spurgeon’s usual second-pairing partner, Jacob Middleton, for another couple of weeks while he nurses a hand injury. That means continued increased responsibility for depth defenders Declan Chisholm, Jonathon Merrill and Zach Bogosian, while the newly-acquired David Jiříček should be in line for a recall from AHL Iowa and some power-play time in Spurgeon’s absence. The 2022 sixth-overall pick has just two points and a -4 rating in nine AHL games since being acquired from the Blue Jackets in November.

Meanwhile, Kaprizov’s absence will last a few more days, although he could miss a bit more. Multiple reports indicate that he hasn’t skated since before the holiday break. The 27-year-old, who becomes eligible to sign what will likely be a fruitful extension in Minnesota next summer, had 50 points in 34 games before exiting the lineup and still leads the league with 20 even-strength goals. Somewhat miraculously, the Wild have gone 2-1-0 in his absence, with Matt Boldy filling in on the top line alongside Marco Rossi and Mats Zuccarello.

The Wild will have two open roster spots after placing Kaprizov on IR, but just $378K in cap space is not enough for an additional recall. They could swap a forward for a defense call-up or create additional financial flexibility by moving forward Jakub Lauko, who hasn’t played since Dec. 14 and remains week-to-week with a muscular issue, from standard IR to long-term injured reserve.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Minnesota Wild| Newsstand Jared Spurgeon| Kirill Kaprizov

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