Jared Spurgeon suffered a bad leg injury after a dirty hit from Predators forward Zachary L'Heureux.

ST. PAUL - The Minnesota Wild (23-11-4) entered Tuesday's game without Jake Middleton on defense and without Kirill Kaprizov and Jakub Lauko up front. They left Tuesday's game without their captain Jared Spurgeon after he suffered a bad injury. 

The lower-body injury happened in the second period of the game when Zachary L'Heureux slew-footed Spurgeon into the boards. The captain's right leg went right into the boards and bent backwards. 

He had to be helped off the ice by his teammates and the training staff. 

"Obviously, it was a cheap hit," Wild head coach John Hynes said on the play. 

"A pretty dirty play," Declan Chisholm, Spurgeon's defense partner said. "Definitely sucks because Jared is a huge part of this team, our captain, huge leader, and he's always got an impact out there."

That hit resulted in Spurgeon only playing in seven minutes and 53 seconds. He did not return to the game. 

"Yeah, I saw him hit the boards hard there and everyone saw those replays," Filip Gustavsson said. "No player wants to do that to another player, hopefully and I just hope Jared is ok and can have a speedy recovery."

I'm sure L'Heureux means well and didn't try to sweep Spurgeon's feet from underneath him on purpose, but it is hard not to think he went to hit Spurgeon for the intent to driving him into the boards hard. 

Which can be the right play. But this was not that. 

L'Heureux, 21, is a former first round pick by the Predators from the 2021 Draft. Despite this, L'Heureux has a long history of being a pretty dirty player. 

He was suspended nine times in the Quebec Major Junior League (QMJHL), including a ten game suspension for jamming his stick between panes of glass and jabbing a 16-year-old kid. He was also suspended twice in the American Hockey League (AHL). 

So, it is hard not to think of this as a dirty play from someone who has a history of suspensions. 

"I’m sure the league’s going to take a look at it," Wild head coach John Hynes said after the game. "But we’ll see with Spurgy. I don’t know where he’s at. Obviously, it didn’t look good with the style of play that he was subject to, so we’ll see where it’s at.”

Nonetheless, it is very unfortunate for Spurgeon and the Wild. The Wild's captain played in only 16 games last year and had back and hip surgeries to end his 2023-24 season. He has recovered from it all at the age of 35 and has been playing great hockey. 

Now, you worry about a potentially awful injury to his right leg or knee that could result in him getting surgery. It's tough. And something I am sure the league will look at, as Hynes said. 

L'Heureux will be fined or suspended. I would expect a suspension but you never know. 

Let us know what you think by commenting below or on the Forum.

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