Joel Eriksson Ek Is the Wild’s Eldest Daughter and They Can’t Function Without Him

Before the overtime winner in Buffalo, the Minnesota Wild have been a tough watch for the past week. Weak plays, stupid mistakes, lack of finish, bad goals going in, all of the hallmarks of a terrible team made the Wild borderline unwatchable. What happened to one of the best teams in the league? Why the sudden slump? Look no further than the top of the Injured Reserve list, where Joel Eriksson Ek unfortunately resides for now.

It’s tempting to assume that the highest-paid superstars are the most important players on the team. But on the Wild, Eriksson Ek is the most important player because he does it all. He takes the hard faceoffs. He plays in the dirty areas, and he always takes the brutal physical punishment that comes with it.

Ek plays on the top power play unit and on the penalty kill. He takes the all-important faceoffs during overtime. He does it all. When Ek is out, it takes more than just one person to fill in for everything he does. 

When Eriksson Ek is out, the Wild's linchpin on the wagon has been removed. A linchpin is a fastener that keeps a wheel on the axle. Take that away, and the wagon is suddenly out of control. As evidenced by the last few games, the wagon was careening toward a cliff that could lead to certain demise. Thankfully, someone took the reins and steered the wagon onto a better path (looking at you, Quinn Hughes and Kirill Kaprizov). Still, it took a few games and tweaks to figure out the path forward without Ek.

Now, as an eldest daughter, I can recognize a fellow eldest daughter from a mile away, and Ek fits the stereotype. He’s unappreciated for doing the toughest jobs. He does everything because someone has to do it, so he just does. And when he isn’t able to do something, everyone freaks out and tries to do it, but Ek is just so good at his job that it takes an entire team to make up for his absence. 

Joel Eriksson Ek isn’t the only eldest daughter on the team. He is joined by the likes of Quinn Hughes. It’s probably why they share the blank expression of someone fighting a demon that only they can see. They sacrifice everything to get the job done, and if that takes being haunted by the Ghost of Hockey Yet to Come, they will accept it. 

Overall, we should be happy to have a few eldest daughter types to hold the team together. Now, hopefully, we can get Ek back in the lineup instead of worrying about who will keep trying to take on the excessive amount of work he constantly shoulders.