By Tony Abbott -
The Minnesota Wild have arguably been doomed in consecutive seasons by injuries to their two hardest-to-replace players. In spring 2023, the Wild lost Joel Eriksson Ek to a broken leg that took him out for all but a handful of seconds against the Dallas Stars in the playoffs. Last season, Jared Spurgeon played just 16 games, and the team missed the postseason for the second time in 12 seasons, all of which had Spurgeon on the team.
Minnesota was determined this offseason to beef up its depth, which was lacking last season. This was a not-unexpected development for a team coping with a $14.7 million cap penalty. They were counting on internal improvements from their veterans and an influx of talent from their prospects. The added depth to stand at the ready in the minor leagues in case injuries cropped up.
Yet, three games into the season, Minnesota already must test the fruit of those efforts. Do the Wild have better answers to injury problems than last year? In theory, yes.
Are the Wild still in deep trouble if Eriksson Ek or Spurgeon is out of the lineup? Also, yes.
Minnesota lost Eriksson Ek midway through the second period after an Adam Larsson elbow to the face, and he didn't travel to Winnipeg for Game 3 of the season the following night. Spurgeon is now out with a lower-body injury, which may or may not be some sort of recurrence of the ailment that kept him out for so long last year.
So the Wild entered Game 3 without arguably their two most irreplaceable players. And predictably, they struggled. Zach Bogosian moved up in the lineup to take Spurgeon's place, and his pairing with Jonas Brodin got buried in their own zone through much of the night. Ryan Hartman scored a goal spelling Eriksson Ek on Saturday. However, he couldn't find his footing on the second line with Matt Boldy and Marcus Johansson.
These injuries put Minnesota back into a familiar position. They must live or die by Kaprizov, Boldy, and an explosive power play, of which Eriksson Ek is a major part. Kaprizov and Boldy combined for zero points, and the power play went 0-for-3. A stellar Filip Gustavsson performance was the only thing that secured a point for the Wild.
Coming into training camp, Minnesota seemed more equipped to handle an Eriksson Ek injury than years previous. Marco Rossi's strong rookie season helped, but most teams have two top-six centers, which puts the Wild at one. Marat Khusnutdinov gave them another center prospect with two-way prowess on which to pin their hopes. Speaking of hope, Minnesota gave 2023 second-rounder Riley Heidt every chance to prove he was NHL-ready.
Heidt was not ready for the NHL game during the preseason, and it's too early for Khusnutdinov to prove he deserves to jump Hartman in the pecking order, particularly when he didn't stand out. Minor-league free agent Travis Boyd got a call-up, but they scratched the veteran center on Sunday.
Luckily, it doesn't look like Eriksson Ek will be out for long, with Minnesota sending Boyd back to Des Moines. Eriksson Ek's return makes the center picture make sense again because Hartman's third line with Marcus Foligno and Yakov Trenin has done well controlling the play at 5-on-5.
Unfortunately, the Wild have to grapple with the possibility of an extended absence for Spurgeon, for which they might not have answers. Brock Faber can step up and absorb more minutes, but he can only do so much. In Games 1 and 2, John Hynes showed that his ideal workload for Bogosian is under 15 minutes per night. Last night, he logged 20:35, including the second-most 5-on-5 ice time of any defenseman on the team.
As much of a workhorse as Jonas Brodin is for Minnesota, they're arguably better equipped to lose a left defenseman like him than one on the right side. Daemon Hunt and Carson Lambos are likely the most NHL-ready defense prospects at Iowa, but they both play the left side. Hunt is probably the next player up. Still, is it wise to potentially play him on his off-side in his first shot at NHL time this season? It's a lot to ask for a rookie.
Again, it shouldn't be surprising that Minnesota is vulnerable to injuries at the top of its lineup. As mentioned earlier, losing $14.7 million in cap penalties will eat into anyone's contingency plans. But it is discouraging for the Wild's depth to be exposed in crucial situations just four days into the season. If it wasn't clear before, it is now: health will be the most fragile part of Minnesota's path to the postseason.
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