Minnesota Wild lose help for playoff push with Luke Kunin’s torn ACL
The Minnesota Wild made room for Luke Kunin by not adding at the trade deadline, but now the former first-round pick will be out for the year.
The Minnesota Wild rebounded from bad losses to the Arizona Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche late last week with a win over the Detroit Red Wings Sunday night. But winger Luke Kunin came out of that game with a left knee injury, and according to Michael Russo of The Athletic, the 2016 first-round pick suffered a torn ACL. The team followed up with an official announcement.
Kunin played 19 games with the Wild this season, including the last two, with a total of four points and 32 shots. In 36 games for the Iowa Wild in the AHL this season, the former Wisconsin Badger had 19 points (10 goals and nine assists).
The Wild did not do much at the trade deadline, waiving winger Chris Stewart and trading defenseman Mike Reilly to the Montreal Canadiens for a draft pick. Kunin and Olympian Jordan Greenway, once his college season ends, were expected to come in and be as good as trade deadline additions as a youthful spark down the stretch.
NEWS: #mnwild forward Luke Kunin suffered an ACL tear in his left knee Sunday. Kunin is expected to return to play in approximately 7 months → https://t.co/LvOlz1b18q pic.twitter.com/DsA2wQdnf5
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 5, 2018
Russo pointed to Kyle Rau, Landon Ferraro, Zack Mitchell and Sam Anas as players with a potential opportunity in front of them now. Ferraro (77 games, two with the Wild), Rau (36 games, three with the Wild) and Mitchell (32 games, all with the Wild) have NHL experience, while Anas does not but has 72 points over the last two seasons for Iowa.
Kunin will undergo surgery once the swelling goes down in a few weeks. Sidelined 6-8 months. Opens eventual door for Kyle Rau, Landon Ferraro, Zack Mitchell, Sam Anas, etc.
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) March 5, 2018
Wild have 12 healthy forwards on roster.
Tough blow for Kunin and the Wild. Just a weird play in corner https://t.co/ENrhxD6hbb
The Wild need to keep winning, or at least avoid their typical inconsistency over their final 16 games, to cement their playoff position. Kunin was not necessarily going to be a huge difference-maker over the rest of this season, but Minnesota’s forward depth will now be tested a bit at the most important time of the season.