Wild forward expected to have season-ending surgery

Wild forward Marcus Foligno, who hasn’t played since last weekend due to a lower-body injury, is expected to undergo surgery that will end his season, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic. The Wild have not commented on the specifics of Foligno’s injury, but the veteran has seemingly been dealing with the issue for much of the second half of the campaign.

Foligno, 32, is in his seventh season in Minnesota. He’s two seasons removed from a career-best 23-goal, 42-point campaign in 2021-22 that also placed the checking winger among the top 10 in Selke voting for the first time. Most rightfully viewed that level of production as unsustainable, as he led the league with a 23.5 percent shooting percentage, but he’s remained a positive possession force with solid third-line production as he enters the latter stages of his career.

His offense trailed off to only seven goals and 21 points last season. That didn’t stop Wild GM Bill Guerin from inking him to a somewhat rich four-year, $16M extension with partial no-move protection before this season began. Early on, it’s been solid value, as Foligno’s point-per-game pace has been slightly above his career average (10-22–22 in 55 GP). His possession numbers have also rebounded after a middling 2022-23, logging a 51.6 CF percentage at even strength that’s sixth among Wild forwards with more than 10 games played. He’s done so in a decidedly shutdown role, averaging 58.5 percent of his zone starts in the defensive end.

Injuries have derailed his campaign since the calendar flipped to 2024, though, missing 18 of Minnesota’s last 37 games. He first exited the lineup with a lower-body injury sustained on New Year’s Eve against the Jets, of which he’s believed to still be dealing with the lingering effects. His lengthiest absence came when he missed the Wild’s final 12 games before the trade deadline, during which the team managed a 7-4-1 record. Despite missing so much time, he’s still managed to lead the team in hits with 179.

Growing injury concerns before his extension even kicks in certainly make the deal look less palatable than it did when it was signed in September. As such, there’s more motivation to hold him out of the lineup and address the lower-body issue now to ensure he’s 100 percent next season. After today’s overtime loss to the Golden Knights, which they won’t get a point out of after conceding an empty-net game-winner to Jonathan Marchessault, Minnesota sits eight points back of the Kings for the second wild-card spot in the West while having played one more game. While not mathematically eliminated, their playoff chances are likely to drop to the 1-3 percent range after Saturday’s games wrap up.

Foligno is one of four Wild forwards locked in through 2028, joining Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek and Frédérick Gaudreau. The full no-move clause on his extension expires after the 2025-26 season, at which point it converts to a 15-team no-trade list for the final two years of the deal.