ST. PAUL, Minn. — The hits keep coming for the Minnesota Wild.
Center Joel Eriksson Ek, who assisted on Marco Rossi’s overtime winner Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings and was arguably Sweden’s best forward during the recent 4 Nations Face-Off, was hurt in practice Monday and has been placed on injured reserve with what league sources tell The Athletic is a lower-body injury. Eriksson Ek will have to miss at least a week — or the next four games — but per the sources, it could be significantly longer than that.
This is a huge blow for the Wild, who have also been without Kirill Kaprizov for every game but three since Dec. 23. Kaprizov underwent surgery Jan. 31 for a lower-body injury that was supposed to keep him out a minimum of four weeks, but president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin has since told The Athletic that he no longer can provide an exact timetable beyond saying Kaprizov is going to be out “longer than we thought.”
The Wild have 25 games left this season. They currently sit in third place in the Central Division — four points behind the Dallas Stars and four points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche with two games in hand on the Avs. They are 10 points in front of ninth-place Calgary, which has played one fewer game than Minnesota.
With Ryan Hartman suspended for another four games, the centers left on the Wild roster include Marco Rossi, Freddy Gaudreau, Marat Khusnutdinov and Devin Shore. Vinnie Hinostroza also can play center, as can Marcus Johansson.
With Hartman occupying one of the spots on the Wild’s 23-man roster and Travis Dermott still serving as an eighth defenseman, there’s only one roster spot left to replace Eriksson Ek. That will likely go to Jakub Lauko, who is expected to be activated off IR after Tuesday’s morning skate and return Tuesday night against the Red Wings from his latest lower-body injury.
Lauko has missed 24 of the past 36 games and three in a row.
If there’s a chance Eriksson Ek’s injury could keep him out for the rest of the regular season, the Wild could change his IR status to long-term injured reserve and use his $5.25 million in cap space in advance of the March 7 trade deadline. The team is also hoping for further clarity on Kaprizov’s situation before the trade deadline because he has a $9 million cap hit.
Eriksson Ek, 28, has scored nine goals and 24 points in 42 games. He has missed 15 games this season due to four previous injuries.
(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
