The Minnesota Wild are facing another setback as team captain Jared Spurgeon heads to injured reserve with a lower-body injury that’ll keep him off the ice for up to three weeks.
It’s a familiar story for the Wild and their top defenseman. Spurgeon’s been limited to just 32 games this season out of 40, struggling with various injuries including lingering issues from last year’s surgeries.
The timing couldn’t be worse for Minnesota. Spurgeon’s been putting up decent numbers when healthy, with 4 goals and 13 points while averaging nearly 21 minutes of ice time per game.
But health has been a real challenge. Last season, he only managed to play 16 games due to back and hip problems that eventually required surgery. That’s a far cry from the 79 games he played in 2022-23.
The Wild are bringing up three players from their AHL team in Iowa to fill the gaps: Travis Boyd, Brendan Gaunce, and Carson Lambos.
There’s a bigger worry here for Minnesota. Spurgeon’s carrying a hefty $7.575 million salary through 2026-27, making him the team’s highest-paid defenseman. If these injury problems continue, that contract could really hurt the team’s salary cap flexibility.
Boyd and Gaunce might get their shot in the lineup, though they haven’t scored any points in their eight games with the Wild this season. They’ve been doing well in the AHL though, with 20 and 17 points respectively.
As for Lambos, the 2021 first-round pick (26th overall) is still trying to find his footing in pro hockey. The Winnipeg native hasn’t made his NHL debut yet, despite being called up earlier this month. His AHL numbers tell the story – just 6 goals and 19 points in 96 games.
Interestingly, the Wild chose to call up Lambos instead of highly-touted defensive prospect David Jiříček, suggesting they might have specific plans for the young defender’s development.
