Wild say former Spokane Chief Jared Spurgeon’s absence related to surgeries but part of ‘healing process’
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. – Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon admitted before the season that the back and hip surgeries that ended his 2023-24 season would require daily maintenance throughout 2024-25, and sure enough, on Thursday general manager and team president Bill Guerin confirmed that the reason Spurgeon has missed the past two games was indeed related to last season’s injuries.
This, Guerin said, is “part of the healing process.”
In other words, Guerin is insinuating that Spurgeon – the former Spokane Chief – is experiencing soreness and stiffness but that doctors have examined him and didn’t find a recurrence or setback.
“You’re always concerned when players have injuries, when players have surgeries, and, you know what, sometimes you just have to be patient,” Guerin said. “Like it takes time for their body to heal. And a lot of the times — hey, look, I’m no doctor, but sometimes it just takes a long time to heal. It might not be the actual injury. It’s just part of the process.”
Spurgeon won’t travel with the Wild to Columbus on Friday or the Florida-Tampa Bay portion of the team’s upcoming road trip. He’ll stay off the ice for a couple of days, let things calm down and then the plan is for him to start skating again. Guerin said once the team sees how Spurgeon is doing, it will be determined if he can join the Wild when they wrap up their seven-game trip on Oct. 26 and 29 in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Spurgeon, who played only 16 games last season because of the hip and back injuries and an earlier shoulder injury, Guerin said, “We’ll know more as we go along. … We really have to take it day by day, week by week.”
“I’ve talked to Spurge. I try to talk to all the players because … they want to heal quickly. They want to get back. They don’t like being out and away from the team and not playing and contributing. So then frustration can build. … They put pressure on themselves. But they’ve got to know that they’re not under any pressure from us. When they’re injured, we just want them to get better.”
In other words, Guerin wants Spurgeon to be patient so this doesn’t cause a setback or make this a season-long recurrence. Spurgeon did attend Thursday’s practice.
Hynes told Spurgeon that he sees this as good news – that sometimes after surgery, the first initial “major activity” causes discomfort.
“Today’s news is really good, and talking with Spurge, he looks good and sounds good,” Hynes said. “He felt pretty good through the training camp, which we weren’t sure if this would happen in training camp or if he got through training camp it might happen where it is now. But fortunately, there’s no major issues there. It’s just part of that process of getting his body back to being able to do what these guys have to do every day.”