Spurgeon, Zuccarello Sidelined With Core Muscle Injuries; Both Expected to Return For Start of 2022-23 Season
The upcoming off-season is shaping up to be a recovery-filled summer for a pair of Minnesota Wild skaters.
This week, The Athletic’s Michael Russo reported that captain Jared Spurgeon had undergone core muscle surgery recently, which is expected to feature a six-week recovery timeline. Russo also noted that forward Mats Zuccarello is scheduled to have a similar surgery.
Spurgeon, 32, has reportedly dealt with the injury since January’s Winter Classic match versus the St. Louis Blues. If true, that would mean he played through the issue throughout the second half of the 2021-22 season.
As for Zuccarello, along with suffering a core muscle injury, he also dealt with a fractured leg this past season. Luckily, however, that isn’t expected to require surgery.
Minnesota is expecting to have both skaters healthy and ready for the start of training camp this fall. But, as with all soft-tissue injuries, there’s always a chance for potential setbacks to occur.
In 65 games, Spurgeon, who was named captain prior to the 2020-21 season, averaged 21:09 minutes of ice-time per game in 2021-22. That was his lowest total since his rookie campaign during the 2010-11 season.
Despite being hampered by injury, the 5’9” defenseman still posted 10 goals, 40 points, 116 shots on goal, 83 blocks, 44 hits and 13 takeaways. He also added a trio of assists in Minnesota’s first-round playoff series against St. Louis.
The Edmonton, Alberta, native is in the midst of a seven-year, $53-million contract that was signed back in ‘19. His lucrative deal runs through 2026-27 and carries a $7.575 million cap hit per season.
Zuccarello, 34, logged 70 games and recorded 18:35 minutes of ice-time per night during his third season with the Wild. In total, he produced 24 goals, 79 points, 159 shots on goal, 48 takeaways, 36 hits and 33 blocks.
During the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, he registered one goal and four points through six games versus the Blues. Two of those four points came during the Wild’s 6-2 victory in Game Two of the series.
The native of Oslo, Norway, agreed to a five-year, $30-million contract as a free agent in July 2019. He features a $6 million cap hit per season and is slated to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2023-24 campaign.
After being eliminated in the opening round of this year’s postseason, the Wild – who finished second in the Central Division with a 53-22-7 record and 113 points – will face plenty of tough decisions this summer.
Currently, the team is slated to have approximately $7.3 million in cap space ahead of next season. That’s the ninth-smallest amount among all 32 franchises in the league.
Making matters worse, forward Kevin Fiala is headed for restricted free agency and will almost certainly receive a sizable raise from his 2021-22 salary of $5.1 million. Not to mention, goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury can become an unrestricted free agent if he decides to return for another season.
Plenty of uncertainty lays ahead for the Wild as they approach a pivotal off-season.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Lorie Shaull. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.