Minnesota Wild Injury Updates: Latest on Spurgeon, Ek, Hartman and More…

The Minnesota Wild play the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight, in a test of their recent run of roller-coaster injury updates. They started their season with a win, but immediately started losing key players to injury.

Minnesota lost both (D) Jared Spurgeon and (F) Joel Eriksson Ek in the 2nd game of the season vs the Seattle Kraken. They lost (F) Marcus Johansson one game later, vs the Winnipeg Jets. Then earlier this week, (F) Ryan Hartman suddenly was a no-show at practice, which was later attributed to an injury.

Health was a problem for the Minnesota Wild for much of the 2023-24 season, and it’s what Bill Guerin and John Hynes believe held them back from being a playoff team. Four games into a new regular season, they aren’t off to a better start, in that category.

Latest Minnesota Wild injury updates | vs Columbus Blue Jackets

Overall, the Wild are getting healthier (though Hartman’s injury throws some cold water on that). At least for now, though, it appears all of the above absences are expected to be of the short-term variety.

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In fact, there are some guys we could see in the lineup tonight. So, let’s take a look at where the latest Minnesota Wild Injury updates, as they prepare for tonight’s game in Columbus.

Latest Jared Spurgeon injury update

Why don’t we start with Captain, Jared Spurgeon, who’s missed the last two games with what has been relayed as a ‘lower-body injury’. Luckily, Michael Russo is reporting Jared’s injury as being short-term, too. It is worth noting, however, that he did not travel with the team to Columbus, and that’s worth noting since Minnesota is on the road for the next 10 days.

After their matchup vs the Blue Jackets on Saturday, the Wild will hit Florida to play the Panthers and Lightning. Then, they’ll fly up the east coast to play the Flyers and Penguins, before heading back home. It’s quite the 10-day stretch.

Jared Spurgeon needed back and hip surgeries to fix injuries that ailed him in 2023-24. His pain got so bad, according to a story by Michael Russo (The Athletic), that he often found himself sprawled flat on the hard ground, in order to stave off the pai. That was prior to opting for surgery that ended his injury-riddled season.

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Now, his new injuries are reportedly related to those same surgeries. The Minnesota Wild are telling Russo that it’s “part of the healing process”. The plan, according to the longtime team insider, is for Spurgeon to skip the Columbus and Florida portion of their roadtrip, before trying to rejoin the team on the east coast.

This, Guerin said, [Spurgeon’s recent absence is] “part of the healing process.” In other words, Guerin is insinuating that Spurgeon is experiencing soreness and stiffness but that doctors have examined him and didn’t find a recurrence or setback.

Spurgeon won’t travel with the Wild to Columbus on Friday or the Florida-Tampa Bay portion of the team’s upcoming road trip. He’ll stay off the ice for a couple of days, let things calm down and then the plan is for him to start skating again.

Michael Russo – The Athletic

Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Johansson expected to go vs Columbus

After missing two games, thanks to a broken nose that was so bad Joel Eriksson Ek was finding it hard to breathe at times, the Minnesota Wild’s all important centerman and agitator (and point producer more recently), is expected to return to the ice on Saturday.

You might notice something different, though. He will be wearing a clear plexiglass face shield to protect his broken honker. Having Joel Eriksson Ek back on the ice is a huge deal for the Wild. He isn’t just a team leader, but he’s been one of their best offensive contributors lately too, scoring 30 goals (career high) and 34 assists last season, on 20:32 per night.

Eriksson Ek looks and feels good and is in great spirits after surgery Monday. Says there was too much blood from nose and hard to breathe when he tried to wear bubble first shift of third period vs. Seattle. Now it’s fine. Thinks he’ll wear bubble for a couple weeks. pic.twitter.com/YwU6GpRuMN

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) October 17, 2024

Marcus Johansson was the other Minnesota Wild regular who was held out of their last game vs the St. Louis Blues. His injury was also classified as a ‘lower body injury’. John Hynes told media that he expects both Johansson and Ek to play vs the Blue Jackets.

What the heck happened to Ryan Hartman?

Just when the Minnesota Wild thought they were getting back near full health, another top line forward, Ryan Hartman, was slapped with an ‘upper body’ injury designation after practice on Friday, which he was not present for. He, though, did travel to Columbus and also has a chance to play tonight.

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Russo reported late Saturday morning that the 30-year-old, ten-year NHL veteran did skate this morning, which leaves the door open for tonight. Hartman’s injury happened during the week, so he has not missed a game yet this season, but here is what the lines looked like at practice, according to Russo.

#mnwild lines w Hartman absent

Kaprizov-Rossi-Zuccarello
Johansson-Eriksson Ek-Boldy
Foligno-Khusnutdinov-Trenin
Lauko-Gaudreau-Ohgren

Middleton-Faber
Brodin-Bogosian
Merrill-Chisholm
Hunt

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) October 18, 2024

Jonas Brodin also missed some practice this week, but that was just for maintenance, according to reports. Hynes told media on Friday that he too will be a go tonight.