The Wild, with its facilities shut down and its season on hold, now has 12 players unavailable after two more were added to the NHL's COVID protocols on Tuesday.
Cam Talbot, Jonas Brodin added to Wild's COVID protocols list
The team now has 12 players sidelined and is shut down because of a coronavirus outbreak.
Defenseman Jonas Brodin and No. 1 goalie Cam Talbot were the latest to be placed in the protocols, while center Victor Rask was removed from the list after being included on Monday. A COVID-related absence can be the result of several factors including a positive test, unconfirmed positive test and contact tracing.
Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Ian Cole, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, Brad Hunt, Marcus Johansson, Carson Soucy, Jared Spurgeon and Nico Sturm are the other players in the protocols. One Wild staff member has also been affected.
On Monday, the Wild had two more games postponed for a total of six overall since the NHL suspended the team's season last Wednesday. A decision on when the Wild could reopen is likely to come later this week. The next game on the Wild's schedule is Tuesday at Los Angeles.
These additions to the NHL's COVID list aren't unexpected since General Manager Bill Guerin anticipated more players getting sidelined, saying the virus was "definitely creeping its way through the team."
Guerin said players who have COVID-19 are experiencing minor symptoms like achiness and a loss of taste and smell.
The star forward came back from a brief injury absence, and two goals from Frederick Gaudreau helped Minnesota to another road victory.