Joel Eriksson Ek, hoping to return to the Wild lineup after recovering from an upper body injury, has now been sidelined because of a positive COVID-19 test.
Wild center Joel Eriksson Ek sidelined by COVID; Eric Staal will play at Iowa to prepare for Olympics
Eriksson Ek was trying to return to the lineup after suffering an upper body injury in December.
January 13, 2022 at 6:12PM
The veteran center will be replaced by Victor Rask in the lineup Friday night against Anaheim at Xcel Energy Center.
Wild coach Dean Evason said, as it sits now, the team is still getting Kirill Kaprizov (upper body), Jordan Greenway (COVID protocols) and Brandon Duhaime (COVID protocols) back into the lineup. Defenseman Alex Goligoski could clear COVID protocols, but Evason said that most likely wouldn't happen.
Staal headed for Olympics
Former Wild center Eric Staal, a candidate to play for Canada at the Beijing Olympics, signed a professional try out agreement with Iowa on Thursday.
The 37-year-old has been in 1,293 NHL games, with 441 goals and 1,034 points with Carolina, the Rangers, the Wild, Buffalo and Montreal.
He won a gold medal with Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Staal played in 311 games and had 111 goals in four seasons with the Wild (2016-2020) before he was traded to Buffalo. He had 13 points for the Sabres and Canadiens last season.
The Wild are off to one of the best starts in franchise history, and Kirill Kaprizov is tied for the NHL scoring lead.
