1:34 p.m.: The Wild moved Kaprizov to IR to open up a roster spot, per a team announcement. They also shifted Brodin from IR to LTIR retroactive to Jan. 7 to open up the cap space for a forward recall, ruling him out of the team’s next two games at minimum.
10:35 a.m.: Wild star winger Kirill Kaprizov missed Tuesday’s practice and will undergo surgery to address his nagging lower-body injury, according to Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic. Russo and Smith report the surgery, which would address what’s believed to be a muscular issue in his groin and is scheduled for Friday, carries an expected recovery time of six weeks. General manager Bill Guerin handed down an official week-to-week designation with a minimum four-week window, per Jessi Pierce of NHL.com.
The loss of Kaprizov is less devastating than when he missed 12 games over the past month-plus, with most of his absence set to fall while the NHL schedule stops for the 4 Nations Face-Off. They still have six games left before the break, though, and their best player will join top shutdown defenseman Jonas Brodin and middle-six winger Marcus Johansson on injured reserve for that stretch. While the ageless Mats Zuccarello and breakout center Marco Rossi still form two-thirds of a formidable top line, there’s simply no replacement for Kaprizov as the Wild desperately try to hold onto their top-three spot in the Central Division heading into the break.
While second-line winger Matt Boldy is a top-line player in most markets and would likely do well with a bump in ice time, the 27-year-old Kaprizov has solidified himself as a top-three winger in the league this season. In 37 games, the 5’10” lefty has tallied 23 goals and 29 assists for 52 points with a +19 rating. His 1.41 points per game are fifth in the league, and tops among left-wingers, not a level of production Boldy or the other few high-upside offensive options in the organization can aim to touch.
Boldy slid into Kaprizov’s minutes during his previous absence, doing well offensively but causing the line’s two-way dominance to falter. He posted five goals and six assists for 11 points over the 12-game span, but the Boldy-Rossi-Zuccarello trio has conceded 3.61 expected goals against per 60 minutes compared to just 2.38 xGA/60 with Kaprizov on that line, per MoneyPuck. With Johansson also missing from the top nine, 2022 first-round pick Liam Ohgren is likely to get an extended run in increased minutes. It’s a shot in the dark, though – Ohgren has just two points in 13 NHL showings this season, both assists against the Avalanche on Jan. 20.
Kaprizov will be back shortly after the trade deadline if he undergoes surgery this week and the six-week recovery window holds true. That won’t allow Minnesota to keep Kaprizov’s cap hit on long-term injured reserve for the remainder of the regular season, but it should allow them additional options for short-term flexibility as they look to add to their roster. They’ve been linked to Islanders pending UFA pivot Brock Nelson, and The Fourth Period reports they’ve at least demonstrated loose interest in Canucks stars J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. But they currently project to have just $200K in deadline space, requiring them to move out salary in any deal they make, plus asking for maximum retention on the other end.
WTF?!?!?
:(
Should still be able to make the playoffs and pick up a more expensive rental a la Vegas model. Then he’s back. Doesn’t sound too bad really.
Six-week recovery time, assuming he undergoes surgery now, puts him back in the lineup just past the trade deadline. They wouldn’t be able to keep him on LTIR for the duration of the regular season.
Ah! Better take some notes from the professionals and delay that surgery then haha… or heal more slowly?
Jokes aside, that does make it a lot more challenging. Wonder if they would bring in someone then try to flip them again at the deadline..? Sounds wacky. Anyone recall a team having done something of the sort?
Doubt it because so much of his recovery window will take place during the 4NFO break. He might end up missing less actual game action than his last absence.
@aka.nda — Calling Dr. Kucherov! (Dr. Kildare is “busy” trying to extricate himself from that pesky bunker on the 9th hole.)
The only saving grace is that in his recent absence, Rossi & Zuccarello really carried the team…
Matt Boldy is the second best forward on the club, It’s not even close. The Wild should focus on the goaltending, Fleury is nothing short of bad, And Gustavsson goes south every season. If Minnesota makes the postseason it will be short lived.
Crappy situation He is in now he was probably the Hart winner if injuries didn’t stop him..
I firmly believe that this is still fallout from that oaf Logan Stanley “falling” on him.