Wild captain week-to-week with upper-body injury

Spurgeon, 33, suffered the injury during Thursday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks. He took a hit from Reece Johnson in the first period and did not return to the game. Spurgeon played just 6:23 of ice time and had one shot on net as the Wild went on to win 3-2 in the shootout.

The Wild have yet to give specifics both to Spurgeon’s injury and a timeline for his return. The Wild play nine games in October, so should Spurgeon’s injury keep him out of the lineup until November, he’ll miss that much time to start the year.

Spurgeon had a bit of a down year offensively last season, with his 11 goals, 23 assists and 34 points in 79 games being his lowest point total in a full healthy season since 2015-16. However, he was still an excellent defender and play driver with a 54.63% 5v5 expected goal share. He also had two assists in six playoff games as the Wild were eliminated in the first round by the Dallas Stars in 2023. He only got into two preseason games this year before the injury, and was held pointless in both games.

The Wild were icing their likely NHL roster in that game, which means that Spurgeon, Brock Faber, Jon Merrill, Jonas Brodin, Jake Middleton, and Calen Addison were going to be the main group on defense. Addison appeared get the most reps in Spurgeon’s spot alongside Middleton, so Addison could be Spurgeon’s likely replacement in the top four to start the season. Dakota Mermis and Alex Goligoski will probably be the candidates to draw into the lineup in Spurgeon’s place until he’s healthy.