Minnesota Wild Captain Set to Return

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Jared Spurgeon, Minnesota Wild
Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Wild are one of the best teams in the NFL, early in the 2024 season, but they are coming off of a loss, in their most recent game over the weekend in Philly, where they fell 7-5 to the previously hapless Flyers. Still, there isn’t a Wild fan in the world complaining about this team’s 5-1-2 start. They sit 3rd in the Central Division and 4th in the Western Conference, with 12 points.

Minnesota Wild Captain Jared Spurgeon returns

Want more optimism? On Tuesday in Pittsburgh, according to Michael Russo (The Athletic), their Captain Jared Spurgeon will return to the lineup, and play next to Declan Chisholm on the 2nd defensive pairing. Russo’s report came right after the Wild PR account on Twitter announced that Dameon Hunt was being assigned to Iowa.

The Minnesota Wild need Jared Spurgeon available and on the ice. Not only is he one of the better defensemen in the NHL, when right, but Jared is also the locker room leader of this squad. After missing him for most of the 2023-24 season, their Captain needs to be on the ice. Tonight, he reportedly will be.

Spurgeon has logged 19,313 minutes as a Minnesota Wild defender. For a decade from 2012-2022, the now 35-year-old — who still has two seasons remaining on his contract beyond 2023-24 — was one of the most consistent players on the entire Wild roster. He’s scored 110 goals and posted a total of 385 points in his NHL career, all of them in Minnesota.

Related: Rumor: Minnesota Wild Have New Partner for Renamed Xcel Energy Center

But last season, he played in just 16 games, after struggling with back pain that eventually led to season-ending surgery. In two games this season, Jared has logged a total of 39:09 minutes. He put 2 shots, 1 assist and a -1 +/- on the 2024-25 statsheet, in those two appearances.

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