Wild’s Spurgeon out for season following hip, back injuries

a Jared Spurgeon Wild – upload.wikimedia.org

The Minnesota Wild has announced that the team’s captain and defenseman Jared Spurgeon will not participate for the rest of the season due to injuries to his left hip and back. According to Wild’s press release, Spurgeon will undergo surgeries next month.

“He is scheduled to have left hip surgery on Feb. 6 and will then have back surgery approximately four weeks later,” the press release said, adding that Spurgeon would see full recovery ahead of the team’s training camp in September.

Previously, an injury also prevented the 34-year-old captain from participating in games at the start of the season. Upon returning, Spurgeon showed up in 16 games before he was placed on injured reserve the day following the Wild’s 1-3 loss against the Calgary Flames on January 2. Then, last Monday, Spurgeon was moved to the long-term injured reserve.

In his short-lived participation this season, Spurgeon tallied five assists with no goals and averaged around 23 minutes on the ice. Spurgeon is the fourth highest-scoring player in Minnesota’s history, racking up 384 points on the ice throughout his career.

Minnesota’s outlook without Spurgeon

Wild head coach John Hynes said it would be “really difficult” for the team to continue without Spurgeon, but it’s ultimately a good decision for the captain to stop pushing his way with his injuries.

“I think overall down the road, it’ll be really good for him. He battled his way through it [but] he couldn’t make it any further,” Hynes said.

Spurgeon is known for his prowess and foiling the enemy team’s scoring attempts. With him sidelined, the burden will pile up on fellow defenseman Brock Faber, who recorded 22 points this season.

“We’ve had guys fall throughout the year, and that means guys have to step up. So, again, obviously it [stinks] and it’s horrible, but at the same time we’ve got to step it up,” Faber said.

Including Spurgeon, Minnesota has been combating injuries this season, with 15 players having been sidelined at some point over the season, although most have returned to the roster. Only Spurgeon and center Vinni Lettieri are still on the injured list, with Jonas Brodin, Kirill Kaprizov, Filip Gustavsson and Mats Zuccarello cleared to return earlier this month.