There was finally some good news Friday on the injury front for the Minnesota Wild: They activated winger Mats Zuccarello off injured reserve.
The #mnwild has activated forward Mats Zuccarello from Injured Reserve.
— Minnesota Wild PR (@mnwildPR) January 6, 2024
Zuccarello has been on injured reserve since Dec. 20 with an upper-body and hasn’t played since the Wild’s 2-1 shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 16. At the time he was placed on injured reserve, Zuccarello led the Wild with 28 points (6 goals, 22 assists). He’s still second on the team in points, behind just star winger Kirill Kaprizov (13 goals, 21 assists), who is currently on injured reserve himself with an upper-body injury.
Zuccarello’s return is a welcome sight for the Wild, who have been decimated by injuries this season. Kaprizov was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday along with top defenseman Jared Spurgeon, who also has an upper-body injury. Goaltender Filip Gustavsson landed on injured reserve on Monday with a lower-body injury.
The Wild are also without Vinni Lettieri, who was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday, Marcus Foligno, who’s day to day with a lower-body injury, and Jonas Brodin, who has been on injured reserve since Dec. 13 with an upper-body injury.
