In the wake of putting Josh Harding on IR, Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher insisted his club isn’t playing coy about the goaltender’s condition.
“He’s just not feeling well,” Fletcher said, per the Star-Tribune. “I wish I could tell you more, we’re not hiding anything here -- he just doesn’t feel well and whatever that’s from I can’t say. I can’t speculate, I don’t want to speculate.”
Harding, already placed on IR once this season for a change in Multiple Sclerosis treatment protocol, has only appeared in three of Minnesota’s last nine games and just two since Dec. 17. His absence has hurt the Wild -- playing at a Vezina-caliber level for the first half of the season, Harding posted outrageous numbers ( 18-7-2, 1.66 GAA, .933 save percentage) and was a big reason why Minnesota had a 20-11-5 mark after beating Vancouver on Dec. 17.
Few details have been released as to what treatment changes Harding underwent in December. Fletcher said it was “not a major situation” and not much is known about Harding’s current condition. He’s been around the team but isn’t traveling for the club’s upcoming road swing through Los Angeles and Phoenix, a decision that Fletcher said was made to limit the amount of time Harding has to spend flying.
“I think he’s feeling a little better, but he’s not able to play right now so we just kept him back and it’s a long flight, so rather than flying to this part of the country – and heat’s not a really good thing for him to be honest with you,” Fletcher explained. “But having him travel around the country...
“Hopefully he starts to feel better this week and we can get him back in the lineup soon.”