Suddenly, Wild hurting on several fronts

In its six-year existence, the Wild never has faced this kind of crisis. Thanks to 10 losses in 14 games, the team is free-falling in the West and every facet of the organization is reeling.

• The players? They're fighting mental and physical fatigue as teammates are dropping nightly. Six regulars will be out tonight against the Detroit Red Wings, with the latest being Kurtis Foster. The defenseman was released from a St. Paul hospital Thursday. Two team sources say Foster broke his larynx Wednesday against San Jose. Foster was sitting on the bench when he was accidentally hit in the throat by a puck on teammate Kim Johnsson's clearing attempt.

• The coaches? They've turned into part-time psychologists as they struggle to boost players' sinking confidence.

• And the front office? Assistant General Manager Tom Lynn has been taxed to the limit crunching numbers. Because of the need to replace injured players, the Wild suddenly found itself only $40,000 below the $44 million salary cap after recalling defenseman Shawn Belle on Thursday.

Because Belle's signing bonus counts against the cap, the 21-year-old former St. Louis Blues first-round pick is a $942,000 cap hit. Belle will make his NHL debut tonight, and if he plays well in the short-term, he could be here for the long term because Foster is destined for what coach Jacques Lemaire called "a long rest."

Initially Thursday, Lynn said Foster had only a "throat injury. Nothing's displaced. He'll be out through the weekend. We'll know next week whether it's quicker or longer."

Lynn later confirmed, "There's a fracture in the cartilage. Mostly, they're worried about his breathing."

Foster's injury tightens the salary cap noose. After going injury-free the first four games, the Wild has suffered 58 man-games lost over the past 20.

Of the critical casualties, 17 games have been to Marian Gaborik. Pavol Demitra, who has a history of concussions, has missed four consecutive because of a "head" injury and isn't yet skating. Wes Walz has missed nine because of a hip flexor.

"This is the worst string of injuries we've ever had," Lynn said. "Last night I was pretty stressed working the numbers. It took a lot of permutations because you want to win hockey games, but you have to consider, 'What if we brought up a cheaper guy?'

"If we get another injury, we may have to put somebody on [long-term injury status] or send somebody down, maybe put [Brent] Burns back on D and have two cheaper forwards."

Players put on long-term injury status must miss at least 24 days and 10 games, which would enable the Wild to spend over the cap by that player's salary. For example, if Jason Morgan (thigh surgery) were placed on LTI, the Wild could replace him with a $450,000 player.

Thursday, Lemaire gave a number of tired or struggling players the day off. He said he feels players such as Todd White and Pierre-Marc Bouchard have "dropped" a bit.

"What I'm trying to get right now is them at their best, not more," Lemaire said of his fragile squad. "I don't want to push them more than that [so they don't] get discouraged. Some guys, I'm trying to get them back playing at a level they're capable of."

Lemaire spends as much time coaching as he does cheerleading these days.

"It's important for us to be in a good mood when we're not winning," he said. "[The injuries], you're wondering where it's going to stop or when it's going to stop."

It might not.

"You know how a black cat crossing your path is supposed to be bad luck?" Lynn said. "[Recently], one was crossing in front of my truck and I ran it over. It was an accident. I was going 60. It was awful."

Michael Russo • mrusso@startribune.com