Wild hope captain Jared Spurgeon’s absence doesn’t signal a repeat of last season

But because the Wild don’t feel they can give any specifics yet besides the fact Spurgeon is day-to-day with a lower body injury after playing 19 ½ minutes Saturday night against Seattle, you have to worry if Spurgeon’s dealing with a setback in his return from season-ending hip and back surgeries last year.

Like most teams, the Wild are often vague or secretive when it comes to injuries. They sure were with Spurgeon last season until they finally announced in January he’d need two operations a month apart.

But if they were at all certain this wasn’t related to last year’s issues and this was merely something like a groin or bum foot, you’d think at least in this case they’d just come out and tell us that.

Hynes: “At this point I really don’t have accurate information to give you because he’s getting looked at (Monday). So when I get the reports back, then I think I can give you more of a fair answer and more of an honest answer. Right now we’re looking at him as day-to-day and then we’ll see what comes out of his results.”

Let’s sure hope. Not just because of what Spurgeon’s absence could do to the team and what dealing with these issues again could do to the hockey player. At 34 years old, Spurgeon is one of the franchise’s greatest defensemen ever and surely their biggest find, a junior free agent who wasn’t even signed by the team that drafted him (the Islanders). Fourteen years later, no blueliner has played more games for the Wild than Spurgeon. None have scored more goals or registered more points. He’s been a constant on the ice since 2010.

You sure hope he’s not dealing with that again, especially after working exhaustively to return to the lineup this season. Spurgeon spent his entire offseason in Minnesota committed to his rehab so he could put this all behind him.