Jared Spurgeon didn't spill the beans.
When Matt Dumba asked the Wild captain what the team was meeting about, Spurgeon told Dumba they would be discussing proper etiquette for players around the rink like tipping valets.
"He pulled the wool over my eyes," Dumba said.
The Wild named Dumba and Marcus Foligno alternate captains Saturday at training camp, a post-practice reveal at Tria Rink in St. Paul that included Spurgeon announcing the news and presenting Dumba and Foligno with Wild jerseys crested with 'A's.
"You're always surprised when you get an honor like this," Foligno said. "Humbled and excited at the same time. It was more so that the brass was in there and everyone. Everyone at camp was in the room, so it made it really special."
Dumba and Foligno replace Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, who had their contracts bought out by the Wild in July.
Not only did those exits continue the dismantling of the team's previous core and signal a new chapter for the franchise, but they left two rare vacancies in the team's leadership committee; Parise and Suter were alternate captains after their arrival in 2012, and Spurgeon just became captain in January after Mikko Koivu didn't return — ending a 15-season run with the organization, including 11 seasons as the team's first full-time captain.
General Manager Bill Guerin and coach Dean Evason had multiple conversations about the openings in recent weeks, and there was a debate about the picks.