MN Wild Place Another Star Forward on Injured Reserve

On Tuesday night, the Minnesota Wild are back at the X to defend their comeback road win, in the finale of a somewhat rare home/away regular season mini-series vs the Detroit Red Wings, who at 29-22-6 (64 points) currently stand as the No. 1 wild card team in the Eastern Conference.

Meanwhile, the MN Wild are 34-19-4 (72 points) and fighting to stay out of the Western Conference wild card conversation. They enter tonight’s interleague matchup vs Detroit as the 3rd and final Central Division playoff team in the West, four points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche (68 points), who hold the No. 1 wild card spot in the West.

Minnesota Wild lose Joel Eriksson Ek to practice injury

Unfortunately, news broke Tuesday morning that the Wild will play tonight without assistant captain and notorious instigator, Joel Eriksson Ek, after he suffered an injury at practice on Monday. It’s just the latest horrible luck injury this team has dealt with in 2024-25. According to Michael Russo (The Athletic), the 28-year-old Swede is going on injured reserve, where he is obligated to miss at least the next four games.

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

The Minnesota Wild defeated the Red Wings on Saturday despite Ryan Hartman serving a suspension, superstar Kirill Kaprizov nursing a lower-body injury (that only gets worse with time) and the rest of their best players — including Joel Eriksson Ek — fresh off a return from the 4 Nations Face-Off.

It wasn’t an easy win, either. The Wild had to storm back from a three-goal 3rd period road deficit to steal an overtime victory from the jaws of defeat at Little Caesars Arena, along with two much-needed points.

What are Wild missing without Eriksson Ek in the lineup?

Tonight, they’ll try for two more and they’ll have to do it without one of their leaders and arguably the heart and soul of their locker room. Joel Eriksson Ek has already missed 15 games this season due to injury. In the 42 games he has played, he’s amassed 9 goals and 14 assists (25 points) averaging 19:38 TOI.

Related: Ryan Hartman Suspension Shortened After Appeal

We’ve seen Ek take a huge step in his development over the last few seasons. After maxing out at 30 points through his first five NHL seasons, he potted 26 goals (49 points) in 2021-22, then pushed his point total all the way to 61 in 2022-23.

Last year was Ek’s first 30 goal season. He also posted a career high 64 points. When on the ice, he has been just as effective in 2024-25, but staying on the ice has been a chore for Ek, just like it has been for many of his teammates.