Veteran Wild winger to miss extended time after back surgery

Earlier this week, the Wild placed winger Pat Maroon on injured reserve. We now know how long he’ll be out of the lineup as the team announced that the veteran underwent successful back surgery on Tuesday and is set to miss the next four to six weeks.

The 35-year-old is in his first season with Minnesota after the Wild acquired him back in July for a seventh-round pick. The change of scenery has certainly helped Maroon’s offensive game as he had 16 points in 49 games before the injury after putting up just 14 in 80 contests last season. 

Of course, Maroon is also known for his physicality — he led the NHL in penalty minutes in 2022-23 — and while his hit total is down considerably, he’s averaging more than a hit and penalty minute per game.

A three-time Stanley Cup winner, Maroon has 150 career NHL playoff appearances under his belt. That, coupled with a low-cost contract (Minnesota is only responsible for $800K of his $1M contract), makes him an interesting depth addition for teams should Minnesota not get back into the playoff picture. 

To that end, Michael Russo of The Athletic relays that Maroon should start skating again in a few weeks so while he might not be completely cleared to return by the March 8 deadline, he should be far enough along in his recovery that interested teams shouldn’t be scared off by the injury.