Minnesota Wild's Captain To Return To Action

Jared Spurgeon has been a staple on the Minnesota Wild's defense since he was 22 years old, but with his injury last season, the team really felt his absence.

The veteran is criminally underrated when healthy, but was only able to play 16 games last season. He has also only played two games this season despite the team doing much better overall. Spurgeon will return to action against the Pittsburgh Penguins after missing six games due to the lingering effects from his surgeries in the offseason, per Michael Russo.

The Wild never placed Spurgeon on the injured reserve, but now that he is ready to play again, the team sent Daemon Hunt to the AHL.

With Spurgeon's absence from the lineup most of last season, it allowed the room for Brock Faber to quickly grow into the player he is. With Spurgeon back, Faber isn't taking a backseat and the Wild have a dual threat on the right side in their top-4.

Minnesota is trying to stay competitive for the final year the team has to deal with a ton of money in past buyouts on the books. If injuries like Spurgeon's didn't really hurt the team last season, the Wild would have likely been able to continue their playoff streak. They still got close regardless.

Spurgeon is still a very good defender and really got on some people's radar when he was 27 and first received Norris Trophy votes. He still received votes two seasons ago before his injury in 2023-24. While the 34-year-old can play on the power play, it isn't necessarily needed in his game to continue to be a 30-40 point player and great defenseman. The Wild hope this is the last time the team or their captain has to deal with any lingering effects or another injury.