According to Chad Graff and Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required), Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin will require surgery on a fractured left hand and will be out for three to four weeks. Brodin suffered the injury on Tuesday, and was scheduled to undergo surgery on Wednesday according to the two Athletic reporters.
It’s a tough break for the Wild after climbing back into the playoff race over the last few weeks, now sitting in the second wild card spot in the Western Conference and just four points back (with two games in hand) of the St. Louis Blues for third in the division. Brodin had been playing well for the team, logging his usual 20+ minutes against tough competition.
The Wild will now turn to less experienced options to help them through the next few weeks, and will no doubt be linked to available defensemen before the trade deadline. Minnesota isn’t in a great position to make any acquisitions though, at their 50-contract limit and with little cap space to play with.
Still, Russo reports that Wild GM Chuck Fletcher is certainly looking at the market. While he may have been focused on an addition to his forward group before last night, a defenseman now wouldn’t be out of the question. Kyle Quincey, who was waived and sent to the minor leagues earlier this year, apparently has been skating on his own at home, and could be an option to open up a contract spot. Otherwise, someone else would have to go to make room for any acquisition.