At 5-foot-9, 176 pounds, Spurgeon was considered a small defenseman when he joined the NHL at a position where size and reach are often critical. He's put together a career that joined him with Mikko Koivu (1,028) as the second player in Minnesota Wild history to play 1,000 games. Spurgeon achieved the milestone when the Wild lost 4-2 to the New York Rangers at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, Minnesota, on March 14, 2026, which also made him the ninth defenseman taken in the sixth round or later in the NHL Draft to appear in that many games.

Spurgeon was the highest-scoring defenseman for Spokane of the Western Hockey League when it won the Memorial Cup in 2007-08, but lasted until the sixth round of the 2008 NHL Draft, where the New York Islanders picked him at No. 156 but never signed him. After two more seasons with Spokane, the Edmonton native became a free agent and accepted a training-camp invite from the Wild before the 2010-11 season.

That led to a contract, a short stint with Houston of the American Hockey League and, on Nov. 29, 2010 -- Spurgeon's 21st birthday -- his NHL debut in a 3-0 road loss against the Calgary Flames. With family members in attendance, Spurgeon had one shot in 14:42 of ice time.

It would take 20 more games for Spurgeon to get his first NHL point, an assist during a 4-2 road win against the Chicago Blackhawks Jan. 25. He finished the season with four goals and 12 points while averaging 15:04 of ice time over 53 games. With the Wild out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Spurgeon went back to the AHL, scoring a goal and finishing with 11 points in 23 games while helping Houston reach the Calder Cup Finals.

Rookie success turned out to be just the beginning for the smooth-skating Spurgeon. He became a master of putting himself in the right position and using his stick to poke the puck away from opponents.

He did so while committing few penalties. From the time he entered the NHL until he signed a four-year, $20.75 million contract extension with the Wild in December 2015, Spurgeon's 38 penalty minutes were the fewest among defensemen who had played at least 300 games over that time.

Spurgeon also became an offensive force, reaching double figures in goals four times in five seasons from 2015-16 through 2019-20 and getting his first NHL hat trick against the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 20, 2020.

Spurgeon was named Wild captain on Jan. 3, 2021. He scored his 100th NHL goal in a 4-3 overtime loss at the Boston Bruins on Oct. 22, 2022.