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Minnesota Wild: Just how underrated is Jared Spurgeon?

By Cody Defoe

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 8: Jared Spurgeon #46 of the Minnesota Wild skates with the puck during the first period of the game against the Los Angeles Kings at STAPLES Center on November 8, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 8: Jared Spurgeon #46 of the Minnesota Wild skates with the puck during the first period of the game against the Los Angeles Kings at STAPLES Center on November 8, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /
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ST. LOUIS, MO - NOVEMBER 3: Jared Spurgeon #46 of the Minnesota Wild and David Perron #57 of the St. Louis Blues battle for the puck at Enterprise Center on November 3, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Puetz/NHLI via Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO – NOVEMBER 3: Jared Spurgeon #46 of the Minnesota Wild and David Perron #57 of the St. Louis Blues battle for the puck at Enterprise Center on November 3, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Puetz/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The Minnesota Wild have a wealth of top flight defenders at their disposal, and Jared Spurgeon is among the best. How does he compare to other top defensemen around the league?

Since Jared Spurgeon‘s debut with the Minnesota Wild in 2010-11, he has been a consistent fixture on the top pairing. The arrival of Ryan Suter in 2012-13 cemented that top pairing placement, and it was not relinquished until this season.

Jared Spurgeon may have taken on fewer minutes in his new role alongside Jonas Brodin, but his minutes have been some of the most difficult on the team. The head coach has often rolled out Spurgeon and Brodin to defend against opposing top lines, to which they perform exceptionally well.

So Jared Spurgeon is now #3 on the unofficial Minnesota Wild depth chart, but historically his numbers read better than a 2nd pairing defenseman. He gets minimal respect among fans outside of the ‘State of Hockey’, but the numbers suggest he should be more celebrated than he is.

Since the 2010-11 season, Jared Spurgeon has played in 528 games, all with the Minnesota Wild. In that time, he has produced 59 goals, 215 points, a +57 plus/minus, and only 82 total penalty Minutes. All of these numbers rank within the top 50 defensemen in the NHL in their respective categories. Some better than others.

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