Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon has been placed on injured reserve, the team announced Wednesday.
In a corresponding move, the Wild recalled 21-year-old defenceman Daemon Hunt from AHL Iowa.
It’s the third time this season the Wild captain has been forced out of the lineup due to injury.
Spurgeon, 34, has played in just 16 games in 2023-24. He has registered five assists and zero goals and sits fourth on the team with 29 blocked shots.
It’s another blow to a Wild team that has been hit hard by the injury bug. Minnesota is also currently dealing with injuries to Kirill Kaprisov, Filip Gustavsson, Mats Zuccarello, Jonas Brodin, Marcus Foligno and Vinni Lettieri.
Despite all the injuries, the Wild have shown a big improvement since head coach John Hynes took over for the fired Dean Evason on Nov. 27. Since Hynes has been on the job, the Wild are 11-6 and sit just four points out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
