The last month or so has been difficult on the Minnesota Wild regarding injuries and illness. At one time they were without seven players, six who are on the roster normally. However, as time went on, they’ve gotten nearly all those players back, with the exception of two. The first in Vinni Lettieri, who’s been in and out of the lineup most of the season. he’s out an unknown amount of time but was in a walking boot for Fleury’s 552nd win team picture.
While it’s likely Lettieri will be out for quite some time, the news for Jared Spurgeon was the worst it could get for this season. It was announced shortly before their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, Jan. 18, that he would miss the rest of the season due to having both hip and back surgeries. It’s planned he’ll be back in time for the start of next season. Here, we’ll focus on this season and how the Wild will struggle and get through this without him.
Wild Lose Leadership & Consistency
Over the past 14 seasons, Spurgeon has proven himself to be a strong, consistent, and capable defenseman. He hasn’t let his smaller size of 5-foot-9 and 166 pounds stop him from being the best he could be and eventually Wild captain. He’s played in just 16 games this season due to injuries that led to these surgeries, but normally, averages around 60 games a season.
Spurgeon is a quiet leader who brings a calming presence to the blue line that the Wild will miss. When things get hectic, he takes the puck and gets everything back under control. His ability to slow and control the play on both the power play and penalty kill are also items that will be missed while he’s gone.
While they’ve been without him for most of the season already, when he was in the lineup he provided a boost to their morale and play. Now that they know he’s not coming back, there’s likely to be some disappointment and worry going through that locker room, but they’ll have to find a way to persevere.
Injuries happen all the time, and unfortunately, the Wild have joined the long list of teams who are missing key players for long periods, like the Toronto Maple Leafs’ John Klingberg, San Jose Sharks’ Matt Benning, and the New Jersey Devils’ Dougie Hamilton.
Wild Will Struggle
It’s safe to say that without Spurgeon, the Wild will struggle in certain areas. They’ve figured out how to win without him, but they knew he would eventually come back. As time passes, they will miss his stability on the blue line and his ability to calm situations down. He may not be a loud voice, but the team respects and listens to him.
He’ll still be available off the ice, but on the ice, they’ll miss his experience. They’ll likely make more mistakes due to the lack of experience without him, but they’ll have to learn quickly. Again, as the season goes on, the Wild will make mistakes that normally wouldn’t happen with him in the lineup, but they’ll have to figure it out.
Wild Have Capable Players
Although the Wild lost Spurgeon, they thankfully have a number of other players to rely on. They may not be the same as him, but they are capable, and if they work together well, they can make things work.
Brock Faber is at the top of the list as he stepped up the most when both Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin were out recently. He was playing top minutes, running the power play, and logging time on the penalty kill. He’s still doing most of those things and is currently the youngest defenseman on the Wild at 21 years old.
Brodin is also right at the top, and other than Spurgeon, he’s the best defenseman they have. Brodin is much older and has been in the league much longer, so his skills have had more time to develop.
Brodin is a shot-blocking machine, and the only reason he isn’t leading the team is due the amount of time he’s missed due to his own injury issues. He’s got a great hockey I.Q. and always knows where to be. He’s made a few uncharacteristic mistakes this season, but those hat can be attributed to his injury and getting used to the lineup and systems again.
It’s expected that Brodin and Faber will find another level to their game, which they’ve proven in the past they can do. Jake Middleton is another player who’s surprised most with his ability to find that next level. Putting him with Spurgeon and Faber over the last couple of seasons has improved his game, and he’ll be relied on quite a bit.
That leaves Alex Goligoski, Jon Merrill, Daemon Hunt, and Dakota Mermis, who have all been part of the bottom pairing this season. Goligoski and Merrill have really struggled for most of the season, but it’s become more apparent as of late. Hunt and Mermis took their spots in the lineup over the past few games, and while they have made mistakes, they haven’t been as frequent. Now that Spurgeon is out, head coach John Hynes will either have to continue rotating or decide who’s in and who’s out.
Wild’s Rest of Season
There’s no beating around the bush that the Wild will have a tough rest of the season without their captain. However, they’ll have to accept that. They will likely make more mistakes without him in the lineup, but they do have the ability to step up and win without him as they have proven a number of times this season. They even defeated the Boston Bruins twice without Spurgeon in the lineup.
They’ll need everyone in the lineup to step up and the defense has to share the workload. None of them can be Spurgeon by themselves. If they can all find a way to find another level to their game and lead by example, they’ll be more than capable of winning more games this season.
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