Minnesota Wild Get Rough Joel Eriksson Ek Injury News

According to The Athletic's Michael Russo, Minnesota Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek has been placed on injured reserve after suffering an injury during the club's Feb. 24 practice. In addition, Russo reported that Eriksson Ek is expected "to be out a lot longer" than the minimum seven days required for an IR placement.

BAD #mnwild NEWS: Center Joel Eriksson Ek was injured in practice yesterday and has been placed on injured reserve. Must miss at least 7 days (next 4 games), but I hear he's going to be out a lot longer. Jakub Lauko will likely be activated off IR and replace him on roster
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) February 25, 2025

This is certainly concerning news for the Wild, as Eriksson Ek is one of their most important players. Furthermore, while they are in a good place in the Western Conference standings, they are in the middle of trying to catch up to the Dallas Stars for the second-place spot in the Central Division. Being without Eriksson Ek will certainly make things more challenging on that front.

Eriksson Ek, 28, has appeared in 42 games this season with the Wild, where he has nine goals, 24 points, 31 blocks, 69 hits, and a plus-5 rating. This is after he set new career highs with 30 goals and 64 points in 77 games with the Wild during the 2023-24 campaign.

Eriksson Ek is one of the Wild's top centers and an important part of both their power play and penalty kill. Thus, they will need to make some serious adjustments without him in the lineup from here.

In 540 NHL games over nine seasons with the Wild, Eriksson Ek has 131 goals, 163 assists, 294 points, and a plus-62 rating.