The Minnesota Wild continue to be plagued by the coronavirus. Having already had four games postponed due to an outbreak within the team, the Wild are still struggling with the virus to the point that the NHL on Monday postponed two more Wild games.
Minnesota last played Feb. 2 in Colorado. Their games Feb. 4 (Colorado), Feb. 6 (Arizona), Feb. 7 (Arizona) and Feb. 9 (St. Louis) were all postponed as a result of the outbreak.
The additional postponed games are Minnesota’s games this week against St. Louis (Feb. 11) and Los Angeles (Feb. 13).
The outbreak has so far put nine Wild players on the NHL’s COVID-19 unavailable list:
- Nick Bjugstad
- Nick Bonino
- Ian Cole
- Joel Eriksson Ek
- Marcus Foligno
- Brad Hunt
- Marcus Johansson
- Jared Spurgeon
- Nico Sturm
Anyone who lands on the list can’t return to action until they are symptom-free for 10 days or until it’s been at least 10 days since their last positive test.
“I’m not sure what we’re going to be able to do or when we’ll be able to do it,” Guerin said Monday. “I think we’d be better off taking the extra time, making sure our guys are healthy.”
That’s exactly what the league decided was best with its announcement Monday afternoon. The league will continue to monitor the situation and let the Wild know when the team can resume activities. At this point, practice is not allowed.
Guerin added: “If we have to wait a few more days, we have to wait a few more days. I don’t think this is something that we want to cram a round peg into a square hole. Let’s just wait it out and be patient and do the right thing.”
Guerin said the virus is “creeping its way through the team,” and that the players who have gotten it have had minor symptoms, including body aches and loss of taste or smell.
Some updates from #mnwild general manager Bill Guerin. 👇 pic.twitter.com/nLv1KmFDsa
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) February 8, 2021
The Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils also had games postponed due to COVID-19 outbreaks.
