One of the Wild's biggest strengths is their mobile blue line, but that group suffered a big blow Tuesday night when Jonas Brodin broke a finger.
He had an appointment with a hand specialist Wednesday at noon. While the Wild didn't provide the extent of Brodin's injury after Wednesday's practice, general manager Chuck Fletcher said he expects Brodin will be out at least a few weeks, but he doesn't know if the timetable's two or three weeks or four or six.
Maybe things change after the appointment, but sources said that before the appointment, the team was expecting he'd miss four weeks and shouldn't need surgery. Even with the All-Star break, this will be a good chunk of games with the condensed schedule coming up.
Brodin, 23, the 10th overall pick in the 2011 draft, has scored three goals and 16 points in 43 games. It has been a bounce back year for him after a seven-point season a year ago, and frankly, the Wild's defense always has taken a turn for the worse without Brodin.
In the short-term, coach Bruce Boudreau said veteran Nate Prosser will probably draw into the lineup Thursday against the Arizona Coyotes, but Boudreau planned to call Iowa coach Derek Lalonde on Wednesday to seek his recommendation for a call-up.
