ST. PAUL, Minn. — Almost 14 years have passed since Jared Spurgeon made his NHL debut on his 21st birthday, but the Wild captain and his wife, Danielle, still recall the challenges that training camp poses for players on two-way contracts.
These players, along with their families in some instances, typically arrive in town weeks prior to camp and may find themselves living in a hotel for extended periods, sometimes over a month.
This past weekend, after years of hosting Halloween, New Year’s, Super Bowl parties, as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for teammates, the hospitable Spurgeons opened their home in Edina to the entire team, welcoming all roster hopefuls and potential minor-leaguers.
Following an evening where Jared and Danielle entertained more than 25 guests, one couple particularly stood out to Danielle — a free agent acquisition named Reese Johnson, who has played 141 games with the Chicago Blackhawks, along with his new wife, Tyler.
“After they left, I told Jared how much I enjoyed Reese and Tyler,” Danielle recalled, laughing. “I told Jared how wonderful they were, and he chuckled and said, ‘That’s the guy who actually hurt me in the preseason.’
“I responded, ‘Oh, that’s hilarious. I didn’t know that. But anyway, love them!’ I mean, as Jared pointed out, ‘Who cares?’ Accidents happen.”
The shoulder injury Jared suffered during Minnesota’s final road exhibition game last year was incredibly frustrating. No player wants to face injury right before the season, and he was looking forward to a fresh beginning after a lengthy offseason and the anticipation of a full training camp.
Unfortunately, the injury sidelined him for the first month of the season, initiating a frustrating campaign filled with physical challenges and setbacks.
Spurgeon managed to play only 16 games, and the Wild missed the playoffs for just the second time since 2012. He eventually underwent hip and back surgeries, just a month apart, after grappling with pain and numbness in one of his legs and feet throughout the season.
“It escalated to the point where I would experience complete numbness in my toe during physical activity,” Spurgeon explained. “You start to toe-pick. It got to where during games, between shifts, I would untie my skates, hoping to find some relief, but it never worked.”
Danielle, who began her relationship with her high school sweetheart as a teenager, recalls one December evening when Jared came home feeling more despondent than ever before.
“He felt like his body was betraying him,” she said. “He was incredibly frustrated. He expressed that his leg and foot were simply not responding as he expected. When he tried to pivot, his body wouldn’t cooperate, or he found himself in awkward, vulnerable positions as he attempted to adjust his movements to alleviate pain.
“It just seemed to worsen and wouldn’t go away.”
If Spurgeon rode in a car for more than ten minutes, he would become numb. Bending down to untie his children’s skates caused his back to lock up, making it feel like it took “forever” to straighten up.
Mental health was not in a good place for him.
This situation was tormenting for an otherwise fit athlete — a person accustomed to being a dependable NHL player, actively involved in his children’s lives, and able to play with and lift his three rescue dogs (weighing between 70 to 125 pounds).
After several frustrating weeks and months of consulting various doctors and undergoing treatments, Spurgeon reached a breaking point. He voiced his concern, saying, “I can’t play like this. I’m not helping the team. There’s no point anymore. I’m more of a liability than anything.”
Thus, he made the decision to undergo surgery… not just once, but twice.
Undergoing surgery is seldom a welcome choice, yet for Spurgeon, it brought a sense of relief. He was finally taking decisive steps towards regaining his health and living pain-free.
The hip surgery mandated a month on crutches. However, as his wife noted, Spurgeon is such a “freak of nature” that he managed to discard the crutches in just two weeks, showcasing an impressive range of motion that is uncommon for someone at that stage of recovery.
“He progressed so quickly, but those first couple of days were hell,” Danielle recalled with a laugh. “My mom flew in to help. The issue with Jared is that he never sits still. He refuses to let anyone do anything for him or the kids; he wants to take charge of everything. I had to tell him, ‘You are so annoying right now, just go sit down. That’s it. Just go sit. We’re all fine.’”
“But he wouldn’t listen. It felt like I was constantly trying to get him to sit down or lay down. I was like, ‘Relax!’”
Spurgeon, now 34, chuckles as he recalls what his wife and their four children, aged 14 to 5, had to deal with during this challenging time.
“I give them a lot of credit because I wasn’t the happiest person throughout this,” Spurgeon admitted.
Months following the surgeries — after remaining in Minnesota all summer instead of returning to the family’s lake home near Edmonton — Spurgeon is set to hit the ice on Thursday when the Wild commence training camp.
He has been rehabilitating and skating four days a week since spring and is confident that the struggles from last season are behind him. He anticipates a return to his previous form — the same Spurge who ranks third in assists (274) in Wild history, holds the all-time record for defensemen with 110 goals and 384 points, and is just 443 minutes away from surpassing Mikko Koivu’s franchise record of 19,718 minutes.
His spirits remain high, even as he reflects on the recent passing of his cherished “Lady J.”
Just ten days after celebrating her 100th birthday, Spurgeon’s grandmother, Joyce, passed away on September 2.
During his childhood, when he and his brother, Tyler, were cared for by their grandparents,
As children, Joyce would don the goalie pads and protect herself from the barrage of balls and pucks that the boys would send her way in her basement.
She embraced all of Jared’s friends as if they were her own grandchildren, particularly his childhood best friend, Tyler Ennis, the former Wild center who recently announced his retirement from hockey on Tuesday.
“My grandparents, Joyce and Paul, were the ones who held season tickets to the Oilers. They would split them among the grandkids, allowing us to attend one or two games each year. That’s truly where my passion for hockey started—attending Oilers games with them,” Spurgeon shared. “Reaching 100 and still mostly living independently is quite remarkable.”
Jared Spurgeon with his grandmother. (Courtesy of Danielle Spurgeon)
Joyce was a fervent fan, watching every Wild game intently. One of her happiest moments came when she was able to witness Jared play in Edmonton. Although she stopped attending games in recent years due to the noise and chaos, during the 2020 father-son trip at Rogers Place, when Spurgeon achieved a spectacular natural hat trick, he immediately received a jubilant message from his then 96-year-old grandmother.
The bond Spurgeon shared with his grandparents was profound; so much so that when he began dating Danielle at the age of 16, one of their earliest outings started at his grandparents’ home.
“I recall it was a Friday evening and we had plans to hang out. He suggested, ‘Let’s stop by my grandma’s house first,’” Danielle reminisced, chuckling. “I thought, ‘Excuse me?’ But we often visited his grandparents with friends. She would prepare delicious food and snacks, and we’d just relax in the basement, playing pool.
“Initially, I was caught off guard. I had never experienced that before. But we became regulars there. After Paul passed away, she continued to host Sunday dinners. During the offseason, after Jared and his brother finished their workouts, they would visit her for lunch every day. It was incredibly sweet. He loved her dearly.”
While hockey represents Spurgeon’s profession and livelihood, his family embodies his true life, and he eagerly anticipates a return to a more conventional lifestyle now that he’s healthy.
His eldest child, Zach, has just embarked on his high school journey and is trying out for the Edina hockey team. He’s nearly as tall as Spurgeon and has outgrown his father’s shoes. Their youngest child, Myer, just started kindergarten at age 5, signaling the Spurgeons’ exit from the baby phase. Their children Colbie and Jayce are 10 and 7, respectively.
“It’s astonishing how quickly time passes,” Spurgeon remarked. “This summer has been filled with a whirlwind of kids’ sports.”
Back: Colbie, Danielle, Zach and Jared Spurgeon. Front: Myer and Jayce. (Courtesy of Danielle Spurgeon)
And then there are the three dogs. The family enjoys a strong bond with the organization formerly known as Secondhand Hounds, having fostered numerous dogs over the years from shelters and adverse situations.
“As a child, I always dreamed of having a dog for Christmas,” he recalled. “That was my ultimate wish. However, we didn’t get a dog until we were older and had relocated for junior hockey. Once we settled down, got married, and had our own place, we welcomed a Bernese Mountain Dog as our first family pet, but sadly, he passed away at a young age.”
“Following that, we committed to rescuing other dogs. The kids absolutely adore them.”
The latest addition to their family is Simon, a St. Bernard who weighs 125 pounds. Initially, he was in foster care but was returned to the shelter, which sought someone to assist in his recovery before he could be listed for adoption.
The Spurgeons stepped up to help.
Since last Christmas, Simon has undergone two knee surgeries and a facelift, recuperating under the care of Spurgeon. He proved to be incredibly easygoing and developed a wonderful rapport with their other large dogs, Cohen and Teddy, leading the Spurgeons to officially adopt him.
“I suspect it was part of Danielle’s strategy,” Spurgeon joked. “If she had her way, she would own 100 dogs.”
Spurgeon had long intended to take Simon home, and once he received medical clearance, he finally got the opportunity to take a photo with him.
