The Minnesota Wild were dealt a disappointing injury blow on the eve of the 2023-24 regular season, losing captain Jared Spurgeon week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

The 33-year-old suffered the ailment during Minnesota's 3-2 preseason shootout win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night. The injury itself was not confirmed, but appeared to occur after a collision with Hawks forward Reese Johnson.

Spurgeon left the game with 59 seconds remaining in the first period to be evaluated, and did not return to the bench for the second period of play.

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Although the Wild won the game in a shootout, it's an absolutely brutal blow for a team that is reeling after yet another first round playoff loss. Spurgeon is the team's most important defenseman, and his absence will be greatly missed when the 2023-24 campaign kicks off.

That is especially true as the veteran Canadian put together a solid campaign last year, scoring 11 goals and 34 points in 79 games in the State of Hockey. He even earned a few Norris Trophy votes for the fifth time in his seven season career.

The Wild figure to be a top-three team in the Central Division this year, but that is totally up in the air after Spurgeon's untimely injury. The goal is that the ailment will keep the captain out of the lineup for no longer than a couple of weeks.

Regardless, Minnesota will look to get off to a strong start when they welcome the reigning Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers to the Xcel Energy Center on Oct .12.