It was an eventful summer for Wild forward Nico Sturm, who married his long-time girlfriend in Minnesota, with plenty of family from Germany in attendance.

On the ice, it was a quiet start to the second full season of his second full stint in Minnesota, as Sturm was a spectator for the Wild’s first three games.But Sturm was ready to make his season debut on Thursday night at Tampa Bay after the Wild’s first manpower loss of the campaign. He slotted in on the wing for the fourth line with Michael McCarron at center and Yakov Trenin on the other side, as the Wild were without winger Nick Foligno and will not have him in the lineup for the final two games of the road trip.

“He’s still on the trip. I don’t have a timetable (for his return), but it will not be on this trip,” Wild coach John Hynes told reporters in Tampa following the team’s Thursday morning skate at Benchmark International Arena.

Foligno played five shifts in Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime loss in Buffalo before leaving the game with an upper body injury. Sources indicated that it will not keep the veteran winger out of the lineup long-term.

Hynes said Foligno is considered day-to-day but they expect to know more upon returning to St. Paul on Sunday.

The team also recalled forward Tyler Pitlick from Iowa on Wednesday. He played 32 games for the Wild last season, scoring two goals.

Sturm, 31, skated in 49 regular-season games for the Wild last season and played eight of 11 in the playoffs. He also skated for Germany in the Winter Olympics, scoring a goal in five international games.

He began his career in Minnesota, fresh out of Clarkson University in 2019, then won Stanley Cups with Colorado and Florida before returning as a free agent in 2025.

Hynes said scratching Sturm to start the season was a tough decision.

“The team obviously played well and won some games, so he’s ready,” the coach added.“He had a good camp. He’s confident in his game, the way he needs to play, so I’m excited for him to be able to get a chance because he’s certainly earned it.”

Hynes added that there were lessons taken from the loss in Buffalo, where the Wild got a point on the road but had set themselves up for something better, taking a two-goal lead into the third period.

“I addressed that with them. I felt like at the start of the game we were good, and then we just weren’t indicative of how we want to play,” Hynes said. In particular, the Wild got loose defensively, putting goalie Jesper Wallstedt to the test with a number of odd-man rushes.

“We gave them three odd-man rushes on the power play, and I think nine total,” Hynes said. “When you look at our team, we’re usually top five in odd-man rushes against. … We gave up some uncharacteristic grade-A chances based on habits and details and how we want to play.”