The Minnesota Wild have found ways to win early on this season despite a brutal start on the injury front. They lost Brock Faber to a fractured skull before the season even started. Since, Filip Gustavsson, Nick Foligno and Marcus Foligno have all landed on injured reserve since.
Then, during Monday’s 4-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights Nico Sturm took a Jared Spurgeon shot to the head in the first period and needed help skating off the ice. We have yet to get an update on the depth forward’s status for the short or long term..
Minnesota Wild captain injured too
And as it turns out, Sturm wasn’t the only MN Wild player who left that game hurt. About 30 minutes before puck drop in Winnipeg on Tuesday, Minnesota announced that its captain, Jared Spurgeon, would not play against the Jets due to a previously undisclosed upper-body injury.
#mnwild Injury Update: Jared Spurgeon (upper body) will not play in tonight’s game.
— Minnesota Wild PR (@mnwildPR) October 13, 2026
Related: Brock Faber Spotted at Wild Game Same Night Teammate Suffers Similar Injury
The Wild only listed it as an upper-body injury, but Dylan Loucks of The Hockey News reported that Spurgeon took a hit in the third period against Vegas, on the same shift Jonas Brodin took a puck off the hand.
According to Loucks, assistant athletic trainer Travis Green checked on Brodin at the bench, then slid over to look at Spurgeon’s shoulder. Spurgeon stayed in the game and even took his next shift. But the 36-year-old apparently woke up Tuesday still feeling it.
Monday against the Golden Knights, Spurgeon logged 23:32 of ice time, including 4:56 on the penalty kill. He also blocked three shots. Through six games, he has a goal and four assists with a plus-4 rating.
What does the Wild blue line look like without Jared Spurgeon?
The Wild’s decision to keep both Matt Kiersted and David Spacek on the roster after losing Sturm, a forward, makes a lot more sense now.
Against the Jets, Brodin moved up next to Quinn Hughes, Zach Bogosian paired with Olli Maatta on the second defensive unit, while Daemon Hunt and Spacek made up the third pair. Spacek also took Spurgeon’s spot on the second power-play unit.
Out for the #mnwild tonight: Jared Spurgeon Nico Sturm Marcus Foligno (IR) Nick Foligno (IR) Brock Faber (IR) Filip Gustavsson (LTIR) https://t.co/XqghgQFAMT
— NHL Rosters (@NHL_Rosters) October 14, 2026
Minnesota hasn’t given a timeline for Spurgeon. We’ll see what head coach John Hynes has to say in his postgame Tuesday night. The Wild’s next game is back at home against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.