Wild’s Jonas Brodin to return after missing nine games with lower-body injury

Minnesota Wild veteran defenseman Jonas Brodin will make his return to the lineup Saturday versus the Buffalo Sabres after being out for the past nine games due to a lower-body injury, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic.

Sidelined since late February, Brodin has been limited to 38 appearances with the Wild this season in which he has tallied four goals and 14 assists for 18 points coupled with 12 penalty minutes and a plus-10 rating. On the season, Brodin ranks second among Minnesota defensemen in averaging 22:42 in ice time per game.

This season, the 31-year-old Swedish-born rearguard has battled a host of injury challenges. In addition to his most recent absence, Brodin also missed a 12-game stretch through early February due to a lower-body injury, eight games through mid-December related to an upper-body ailment, plus another two contests in November after he suffered an upper-body injury.

Originally chosen 10th overall by Minnesota in the 2011 NHL Draft, Brodin has since spent 13 seasons with the Wild in which he has collected 58 goals and 200 assists for 258 points through 841 career contests. In the 2021-22 campaign, he reached a career-high 30 points counting five goals and 25 assists coming in 73 games. Brodin has also recorded two goals and 14 assists for 16 points through 67 appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Per PuckPedia, Brodin is in fourth year of a seven-year contract that carries a $6-million annual average value.

For the Wild, on the season the club sits 39-25-5 to hold down the first wildcard seed in the Western Conference with 83 points, on pace to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fifth time in the past six seasons. Following Saturday’s contest against the Sabres, the Wild head to Texas to take on the Central Division rival Dallas Stars on Monday.