Former Spokane Chiefs star Jared Spurgeon turning back clock for surging Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Before the first period of Saturday’s shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres, it had been 15 games since Jared Spurgeon and Jake Middleton had been on the ice for a five-on-five goal against.

“You jinxed us,” the Wild captain and former Spokane Chiefs standout said, laughing, after Monday’s practice – a reference to a tweet earlier that day about the 220-plus minutes of five-on-five ice time from Spurgeon and 200-plus from Middleton since the last even-strength goal against on Oct. 28. “We’ll just have to start a new streak.”

Spurgeon, the Wild’s all-time leader in virtually every statistical category for defensemen, may have turned 36 years old Saturday and might be in his 16th season, but it feels like he’s turned the clock back during an 11-1-2 November. On Tuesday, he played in his 37th career game against his hometown Edmonton Oilers at the arena where he registered his only career hat trick in February 2020, coming away with a 1-0 win.

After going minus 12 in his first 12 games of the season, Spurgeon was plus 8 with the Wild outscoring opponents 9-0 with him on the ice at five-on-five until being, uh, cursed against the Sabres.

The string of elite play of Spurgeon, which happened to coincide with being paired again with his old partner, Middleton, came after Spurgeon held a players-only meeting that many credit with helping turn the season around.

In other words, the captain put his money where his mouth was.

“Has nothing to do with me,” said Spurgeon, always humble when it comes to his game. “This has to do with the team. The start of the year, we were all doing too much to get out of the rut. But the team’s been playing great. Everyone’s contributing to that, and that makes everybody look better.

“That’s me included.”

Asked if he’s especially gratified to be playing this way at this age, Spurgeon, who underwent season-ending hip and back surgery two years ago, said, “Yeah, but we’re very lucky to have this as our job, and we have a lot of young guys in here that keep you feeling young. The youth and group of guys we have make you enjoy and look forward to coming to the rink every day.”

Spurgeon is a big reason for that. The captain takes care of everybody around him, like Thanksgiving, when he and his wife, Danielle, hosted 26 teammates and significant others, plus nearly a dozen kids.

“It was such a good time,” goalie Jesper Wallstedt said. “It was pretty early, so we could have an early night because we had (the Colorado Avalanche) game the next day, but spending the day having lunch together, it’s always fun to get away from the rink, spend time with each other and get to know the persons a little bit more. I think Spurge is great at that. Every time I’ve been up here, called up in the past, he’s always very inviting. … I hope fans see it because it’s very important for our group.

”

And on the ice, Wallstedt said, Spurgeon plays solid defense.

“He does the dirty job in our zone,” Wallstedt said. “Maybe that’s the stuff that you don’t always see, but for us goalies, we notice them. We appreciate it.”

October was hard on Spurgeon as he was eating minuses. He admits he went home angry a lot after games .

“I knew eventually with the team we had and the trust we have in each other that it was going to turn around,” he said. “Eventually, it started going the other way, and right now, I can say it’s just awesome to be a part of and we have to keep it going.”

John Hynes feels this is the best Spurgeon has played in his coaching tenure in Minnesota. He said Spurgeon is simply playing an efficient game.

“His ability to break pucks out and just transition the puck has been really smooth and quick,” Hynes said. “He just sees the option and hits it. I’d say from a defensive standpoint, he’s been really good on his rush defense and his gaps and coming into D-zone coverage and D zone. We had a video (last week) about some of the D-zone coverage, and just the amount of times that he’s either blocked shots or he’s boxing out at the net front against bigger guys, his details are flawless.”

Spurgeon is in the sixth year of a seven-year deal, so he cherishes all these late-career trips to Edmonton. His older brother, Tyler, still plays overseas, but his parents and sister, as well as Danielle’s parents and several other family members and friends, will be at the game.

“It’s always fun to go back home and play in front of family and friends that don’t always have the opportunity to come here,” Spurgeon said. “You do know it’s coming closer to the (end of my career), so you want to take it in. I’m excited to go home, see family tonight and go for dinner and stuff like that, catch up, and then just game day as usual.”