Jared Spurgeon Injury Update Not Good After Wild Captain Slew-Footed by Dirty Young Preds Forward
Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon was helped off the ice early in the second period Tuesday night against the Nashville Predators, in a game that started with two-straight fights and saw a combined 35 penalty minutes dished out by the second intermission.
Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon suffers injury via dirty slew-foot
Spurgeon was ridden into the boards hard by 21-year old Predators rookie Zachary L’Heureux, who received a match penalty for taking out both legs of Spurgeon with one of the dirtiest “slew-foot” penalties that you will see in the National Hockey League.
Zach L’Heureux given a match penalty after slewfooting Wild captain Jared Spurgeon. Shades of his past life in junior coming out tonight. pic.twitter.com/7MmjWWKh1B
— Nick Kieser🏒 (@KieserNick) January 1, 2025
What “past life” could the executive producer of the Predators radio network be speaking of? Soon after both L’Heureux and Spurgeon left the ice for the night, Michael Russo (The Athletic) gave a quick history lesson on a young player out of Quebec who has one of the longest professional rap sheets of any kid his age, bar-none.
Zachary L’Heureux quickly gaining reputation as dirty player
According to Russo, the 2021 No 27 overall pick has two AHL suspensions and nine suspensions from when he was playing in the Quebec League, before that. One time, he even reached his stick through the boards trying to hit a fan, an act that cost him 10 games…
The Preds player who slew-footed and injured Jared Spurgeon was suspended NINE times in the Quebec League, including 10 games for jamming his stick between panes of glass and jabbing a 16-year-old kid.
Michael Russo – The Athletic
Jared Spurgeon’s right leg got caught up on the boards, bending his knee into an unnatural position. He couldn’t put any weight on his right leg when leaving the ice. After the game, Spurgeon was seen leaving the locker room in crutches and a heavy brace around his leg. Head coach John Hynes wouldn’t give an update after the game, but obviously it doesn’t look good.
Teammates calling this win bittersweet. Captain Jared Spurgeon on crutches with big leg brace walking out of arena.
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) January 1, 2025
John Hynes didn’t have an update on Spurgeon. Called it a “cheap hit” and “undisciplined play” https://t.co/uIHBis0yB5
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) January 1, 2025
There’s no relief in sight for the Minnesota Wild, as the 4 Nations Faceoff break won’t come for another six weeks. The Wild play 18 games over those six weeks, and the minimum injured reserve stint is 10 games.
With Minnesota already without its top shot blocker in Jake Middleton, it makes the acquisition of David Jiríčic earlier this season that much more important for a team teetering on the edge. Jiríčic averages a blocked shot per game in the NHL, but the Wild offense will certainly take another big hit without Jared Spurgeon on the ice. It’s an offense that’s depended on defenders to score from the blue line, too.
Related: Minnesota Wild vs Nashville Predators Started with Back-to-Back Fights
The Minnesota Wild still managed to score four times in two periods versus Nashville, with the over cashing by the second intermission. Half of the Wild’s goals over the last four games have been scored by defensemen, with Declan Chisholm and Jonas Brodin continuing that trend in the first two periods, Tuesday. Brodin also added an assist.
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