Wild activate Jared Spurgeon from LTIR, assign Daemon Hunt to AHL

The Minnesota Wild have activated defenseman Jared Spurgeon from long-term injury reserve, the team announced on Friday.

In order to make space on the roster, the Wild assigned defenseman Daemon Hunt to the AHL’s Iowa Wild.

Spurgeon, 33, suffered an upper-body injury during a preseason game against the Chicago Blackhawks. He took a hit from Reece Johnson in the first period and did not return to the game.

The Wild currently have a 5-6-2 record in their first 13 games, sitting sixth in the Western Conference’s Central Division.

The Minnesota captain is coming off 2022-23 season where he scored 11 goals and 23 assists for 34 points.

Minnesota was eliminated in six games by the Dallas Stars in the first round of the playoffs last spring, with Spurgeon contributing two assists and a minus-six rating.

Across 13 NHL seasons, Spurgeon has 110 goals, 269 assists and 379 points in 851 career games. He is currently in the fourth year of a seven-year, $53.025 million contract extension he signed before the 2019-20 campaign.

Spurgeon was drafted in the sixth round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders, but did not sign a professional contract with the club. After playing five seasons with the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL, where he won a Memorial Cup in 2007-08, the Wild invited the Edmonton, Alta. native to their 2010-11 training camp.

The club rewarded him with a three-year entry level contract. After spending 23 games in the AHL, the Wild recalled Spurgeon and he’s been an anchor on their blue line ever since. Through his 13 seasons with Minnesota, he’s averaged 22:13 of ice time.

The team named Spurgeon captain in January 2021 before the start of the covid-delayed season.