An Injury Update That Makes You Want To Cry

The Minnesota Wild just won a game for the first time since Dec. 9. Hooray!

The Wild have also lost their best player to a very dumb play and they might be gone for a while. Shit!

Minnesota is heading into their own quasi injury crisis with a mixed bag of players that are probably not going to see any ice for the next week or so.

Let’s start with the big guns. After a stupid and targeted, and very deliberate hit from Boston Bruins player Trent Frederic (according to head coach Dean Evason), Kirill Kaprizov is set to miss an undetermined slate of time with an upper-body injury. He is undergoing tests to determine the length of his absence, but he will not play against the Washington Capitals on Saturday.

Nick Bjugstad will miss approximately six weeks with a hand injury after he got slashed so damn hard in practice, he apparently screamed a little bit. In addition, Jordan Greenway and Brandon Duhaime are still on the NHL’s COVID protocol list, most likely not making their return against the Capitals. So that’s another trio of absent forwards.

Joel Eriksson Ek is still missing from an injury he sustained during a game against the Dallas Stars on Dec. 20. Captain Jared Spurgeon is also still missing due to injury and he hasn’t played since Dec. 16. Wild GM Bill Guerin said that both players will be missing a “couple of weeks” on Dec. 30, so they will miss at least the next couple of games.

Starting goaltender Cam Talbot had to leave the Winter Classic after two periods with an injury of his own, and there’s no real timetable for his return.

And, for the cherry on top of the shit sundae that we are being served this Friday, top defenseman Jonas Brodin was absent from practice and is suffering from an injury after blocking a shot in Boston. He will be seeing a doctor, so there will be an update on the length of his absence as well.

So, let’s just look over what players are currently missing from the Wild:

I’m not sure how any team can win games without: their top forward, one of the best two-way centers in the league, their top defenseman, their captain and also another top defenseman, their starting goaltender, and a trio of very good complimentary forwards.

Good news is that the Wild only play four games in the next two weeks. Maybe we’ll see some names off that list during that time and no more, please no more.