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Wild facing possibility Jared Spurgeon won’t return this season

john shipley, pioneer press
·3 min read

The Wild are holding out hope that team captain Jared Spurgeon returns from his latest injury, but they’re also prepared to hear otherwise, head coach John Hynes said Wednesday before the team left for Thursday night’s game at Tampa Bay.

Spurgeon has been limited to 16 games this season, first by an upper-body injury suffered in a preseason game Oct. 5 at Chicago, this time by a lower-body injury last month that has proven tricky to solve.

Asked Wednesday after a morning practice at TRIA Rink if there is a chance Spurgeon doesn’t return this season, Hynes said, “Yeah, I think there’s always a chance until (we’re told otherwise).”

Spurgeon, 34, hasn’t played since Jan. 2 and currently is on long-term injured reserve, not expected back until after the Wild’s Jan. 27-Feb. 6 all-star break. Monday’s 5-0 victory over the Islanders was his 27th missed game this season, and he is not traveling with the team for a three-game road trip through Tampa Bay, Sunrise, Fla., and Carolina.

The exact nature of Spurgeon’s injury is undisclosed but he appeared to injure his left knee when he was checked into the boards by Chicago winger Ryan Donato in the first period of a 4-1 victory on Dec. 3. Spurgeon crumpled to the ice after the hit and was examined by trainers before returning in the third period.

He played seven more games before being placed back on injured reserve.

“He’s going through some things, you know, some testing and trying to work through some things,” Hynes said. “So, I don’t have an answer for you yet. But until you’re told no, you’re always hopeful that he can come back — or any player in that situation would be able to come back.”

Good team

The Wild got a boost on Monday when Jonas Brodin returned from a 17-game stint on the injured list because of ligament damage in his right hand. The defenseman played with fellow veteran Zach Bogosian for the first time this season, and each finished plus-2 with an assist against the Islanders.

“Our first game together,” said Bogosian, acquired in a trade from Tampa Bay on Nov. 8. “He’s an easy player to read off of, so I thought we meshed well together, and hopefully we can keep that play moving forward.”

Hynes agreed, and also liked the fact he was able to keep Brock Faber and Jake Middleton together.

“Those two pairs in general have good skaters on both sides of the rink who are playing the puck well,” the coach said.

Hynes said he planned to keep all the lines from Monday’s win together for Thursday’s game against the Lightning, who beat the Wild 4-1 on Jan. 4 at Xcel Energy Center. Bogosian (one) and Wild teammate Pat Maroon (three) were each part of Stanley Cup-winning teams in Tampa Bay.

“We know what players they have, and what makes them drive, so we have to keep elevating our game against good teams like that and I think we’ll be just fine,” Bogosian said.

Briefly

Tampa Bay, Florida and Carolina all hold Eastern Conference playoff spots — Florida and Carolina third and fifth, respectively. “We’re going to have to be at our best to win,” Hynes said. … Hynes said goaltenders Marc-Andre Fleury and Filip Gustavsson will split back-to-back games at Tampa Bay and against the Panthers Friday in Sunrise, Fla. Fleury moved into second place on the NHL career wins list, and earned his 74th career shutout, on Monday.

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