There is no doubt that the Minnesota Wild have Stanley Cup aspirations after acquiring defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks in a blockbuster trade on December 12. Now there are questions if the Wild will try and acquire another defenseman after losing Jonas Brodin of Karlstad, Sweden, who had surgery for a lower body injury recently.
How long is Brodin out for?
Brodin is projected to be out two months according to Dylan Loucks of The Hockey News. The surgery means Brodin will also not represent Sweden in men’s hockey at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo.
How did the injury happen?
It appears Brodin suffered an ankle injury after blocking a shot in a 5-2 Wild loss to the New Jersey Devils on January 12. The only blocked shot that Brodin was credited in the game was a shot by Timo Meier of the Devils at 7:47 of the first period. Brodin did remain in the game, and had 18 minutes and 24 seconds of ice time, but has not played since.
Brodin in 2025-26
Brodin has three goals and 12 assists for 15 points in 42 games. He is a +13 with eight penalty minutes, one power-play point, one game-winning goal, 43 shots on goal, 91 blocked shots, eight hits, nine takeaways, and 30 giveaways. Brodin’s game-winning goal came in a 1-0 Wild win over the Edmonton Oilers on December 2. Brodin scored from Nico Sturm of Augsburg, Germany at 13:11 of the first period.
Will the Wild be shopping for another blueliner?
The general feeling to the question is no. The Wild are likely going to be giving rookie defenseman David Spacek of Columbus, Ohio some playing time. David Spacek is the son of former NHL veteran defenseman Jaroslav Spacek.
Who will replace Brodin on the Swedish Olympic team?
The feeling at this time the answer is Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm of Borlange, Sweden. It was a major surprise by many that Ekholm was not part of the Swedish Olympic team to begin with after playing 936 NHL regular season games with the Nashville Predators and Oilers since the 2011-12 season. In 2025-26, Ekholm has three goals and 19 assists for 22 points in 52 games. He is a +12 with two power-play points, one game-winning goal, 91 shots on goal, 83 blocked shots, 48 hits, 20 takeaways, and 67 giveaways. Brodin’s Olympic replacement is expected to be named in the coming days. There is also a concern that Anaheim Ducks forward Leo Carlsson may not play at the Olympic Winter Games either because of an injury.
