The Minnesota Wild were taking a gamble when they decided to place Daemon Hunt on waivers on Oct. 23. The 24-year-old was showing signs of progress in the NHL, but due to a salary cap crunch and the reluctance to place David Spacek on waivers, Hunt was the odd man out as the Wild returned to health on the blue line.
That gamble backfired the next day when Hunt was claimed by the Nashville Predators and the Wild have been scrambling for blue line depth since. The situation got worse when Jared Spurgeon was injured during Tuesday’s win over the Utah Mammoth and was declared “week-to-week” before Minnesota lost to the New York Islanders 4-3 in overtime on Thursday night.
With several key injuries holding them back and a group that isn’t immune to the trainer’s room, Hunt’s departure is biting the Wild and could challenge their defensive identity as they head into November.
Daemon Hunt was the odd man out of the Wild’s blue line
The Wild knew there was a risk in pushing Hunt through waivers. Originally traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets as part of the David Jiricek trade in 2024, Hunt returned to Minnesota when Columbus waived him before the 2025-26 season. After going back and forth between St. Paul and the AHL’s Iowa Wild, he got a bigger opportunity when Brock Faber suffered a fractured skull in the Wild’s preseason finale.
Hunt’s stats do not suggest the Wild let a superstar walk out the door. In 11 games, he failed to score and posted a minus-4 rating. But according to Dylan Loucks of The Hockey News, Hunt was second on the team in expected goals behind Wild star Quinn Hughes when he was put on waivers. He also limited high-danger chances for opponents and filled a needed role on the Wild’s third line.
But a decision needed to be made when Spurgeon recovered from a previous injury and Olli Maatta returned to the lineup in Utah. The Wild’s salary cap situation also necessitated a move and it came down to keeping Hunt, Spacek, or journeyman defenseman Matt Kiersted
Spacek could have been sent back to Iowa, but he has played well with the Wild and may have gained attention from other teams. With a chance he could be claimed and lost for nothing, Minnesota has been wise to hang onto Spacek. But the same can’t be said for Matt Kiersted, who has filled a role for John Hynes but has limited upside at age 28.
A reliable veteran in the lineup overshadowed any upside Hunt had, and the Wild chose to waive him. That decision looked bad in the moment, but it got worse when Spurgeon was injured against the Mammoth. The week-to-week designation made it plunge even further and Minnesota must figure out how to construct its blue line moving forward.
Jared Spurgeon’s injury sends the Wild’s defensemen scrambling
With Spurgeon out for the foreseeable future, he joins Faber on the sidelines. Faber has been cleared to skate as the next step in his protocol but is still a ways from returning due to the nature of his fractured skull. Spurgeon’s absence has pushed Jonas Brodin to the top line, but that may not last long, as Brodin hasn’t played more than 62 games since he played 73 during the 2021-22 season.
Maatta has been solid and is on the second pairing. But Zach Bogosian has gone from a “Silver Stick” tour, chasing his 1000th game as an emergency defenseman, to an integral part of the Wild’s defense. The defensive pairing is filled out with Kiersted and Spacek and the Wild claimed Cameron Crotty from the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.
Things could get more complicated if the Wild trade a defenseman as trade talks for Dylan Larkin continue to intensify and it could lead to going deeper into the organization to fill the void, such as former first-round pick Carson Lambos, who was recalled in the aftermath of Spurgeon’s news on Thursday.
Much of the decision to waive Hunt came down to bad timing. But as the Wild assess their depth on the blue line, Hunt was a player they could have used and they will have to make do with what they have as Spurgeon lands on the shelf.
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