Kirill Kaprizov will have surgery and be out a minimum of four weeks for the Minnesota Wild because of a lower-body injury.
“It is not a season-ending injury, but it will put him on the shelf for the next little while,” Wild general manager Bill Guerin said Tuesday. “We’ve been down this road before, and it’s unfortunate.
“I mean, Kirill was having a Hart Trophy-type of season. It’s disappointing for him. It’s disappointing for us too."
The forward played the past three games since returning from a 12-game absence because of a lower-body injury that was considered day to day. Guerin said Jan. 2 and reiterated that Kaprizov was dealing with a non-serious issue that they wanted to be overly cautious with its healing.
Prior to his return, Kaprizov didn't resume skating until Jan. 9, and was placed on long-term injured reserve, retroactive to Jan. 18.
Kaprizov was seemingly an early-season Hart Trophy contender as NHL MVP and was on pace for a 100-point season for the second time in his career. He was tied for second in the League in goals (23) and tied for fourth in points (50) through 34 games prior to his 12-game absence. Kaprizov currently ranks tied for 11th in goals and tied for 21st in points.
Pretty unfortunate considering the season he's having, but the main thing is he'll be fit & healthy for playoffs so they can beat the Oilers... that is if the Flames haven't already done it at that point of course.
That's a massive hit to the Wild. He's a top 10 player in the league and one of those rare game breakers whenever he's on the ice. He was gone for most of January with his injury and the Wild went 5-4 in the games without him.
Kaprizov to have surgery, out at least four weeks
