Spurgeon week-to-week with lower-body injury from L'Heureux slew foot
The Minnesota Wild announced Thursday captain Jared Spurgeon is week-to-week with a lower-body injury after getting slew-footed by Nashville Predators forward Zachary L'Heureux on Tuesday.
Wild general manager Bill Guerin said the team hopes to get Spurgeon back in two-to-three weeks, per The Athletic's Michael Russo.
L'Heureux was handed a three-game suspension for the incident, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced Thursday. Here's a look at the play:
Here's the match penalty slew foot by L'Heureux that injured Spurgeon pic.twitter.com/anKpgS6K2b
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) January 1, 2025
Spurgeon couldn't put any weight on his right leg as he was helped off the ice. Wild head coach John Hynes called the incident a "cheap hit" and an "undisciplined play," according to The Athletic's Joe Smith.
Spurgeon notably underwent season-ending hip and back surgeries in January 2024. He was limited to 16 games in 2023-24.
The 35-year-old is in his fifth season as Minnesota's captain. He finished top 20 in Norris Trophy voting five times from 2017-23.
This is L'Heureux's first run-in with the Department of Player Safety in his rookie season. However, he was suspended nine times during his QMJHL career - including once for 10 games when he jammed his stick between panes of glass to jab a fan - and twice in the AHL.
The 21-year-old has recorded four goals, five assists, and 32 penalty minutes in 33 games this season. Nashville drafted him 27th overall in 2021.