Spurgeon named new Wild captain
FILE PHOTO: Minnesota Wild's Jared Spurgeon, left, celebrates his power play goal off Vegas Golden Knights' goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, right, in the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020, in St. Paul, Minn. Landing in the net is Golden Knights' Nick Holden.[(AP Photo/Jim Mone)]
A day before training camp begins, the Minnesota Wild named defenseman Jared Spurgeon their new captain.
Spurgeon is just the second full-time captain in the Wild’s franchise history, replacing Mikko Koivu who signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the offseason.
Spurgeon, 31, has collected 280 points (82-198=280), 114 penalty minutes (PIM) and a plus-50 rating in 653 career games with the Wild. Spurgeon is the franchise leader in blocked shots (1,097) and ranks fourth all-time in plus/minus rating. He is the franchise leader in goals, PPG (29), GWG (15), and hits (563) by a defenseman and ranks second in games played, points, assists, plus/minus rating, PPP (93) and shots on goal (1,056).
Minnesota signed Spurgeon to a seven-year extension on Sept. 14, 2019, that goes through the 2026-27 season.
Zach Parise and Ryan Suter will continue to serve as alternate captains.