Kirill Kaprizov Injury Update: Some Good and Bad News on the Minnesota Wild Superstar
Kirill Kaprizov has used the 2024-25 Minnesota Wild season to establish himself as an bona fide superstar in the National Hockey League. Not a top-25 kind of superstar, which is a rare platform to reach, in its own right. No, Kaprizov has proven himself as a top-5 type.
The Wild’s 27-year-old former 5th round pick looks like the type of talent that will be in MVP conversations on a yearly basis, for the next 5-8 seasons. That is how Kirill the Thrill is viewed in NHL circles right now, and that is how he will be paid when he (hopefully) signs a contract extension to stay in Minnesota long-term, at the end of this season.
Kirill Kaprizov goes on Injured Reserve… for now
But since December 23, after the Minnesota Wild defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in a game that included yet another Kaprizov goal, he’s been out of the lineup with a lower-body injury. And on Wednesday, Kirill was placed on injured reserve, retroactive to pre-Christmas break.
That means the Russian superstar is technically able to come off of IR right now, the same day he was placed on it. Of course, that isn’t why the Wild placed him there. Instead, per Michael Russo (The Athletic), Kirill Kaprizov will not travel with the team for their upcoming two-game East Coast road trip vs the Washington Capitals (Thursday) and Carolina Hurricanes (Saturday).
Hearing #mnwild star Kirill Kaprizov is going on injured reserve. Even though it’s retroactive to before break and he could come off anytime, I’m hearing he’s not coming on the 2-game trip. This creates room for a forward and likely defenseman David Jiricek with Spurgeon hurt.
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) January 1, 2025
Minnesota Wild dealing with injuries to players they cannot afford to lose
This latest Kirill Kaprizov update comes just one day after the Minnesota Wild lost Jared Spurgeon to a dirty slew foot penalty that was inflicted by a young (and already proven dirty) Zachary L’Heureux. The team has yet to update the outlook of their captain, but insiders are not expected good news when they do.
But there is only one player on this roster that the Wild must have on-ice whenever possible, and that is Kaprizov, who has already tallied 23 goals, 27 assists in 34 games this season and who currently holds the 2nd best odds to win the Hart Trophy (+240 per FanDuel) at the end of the season, behind only Connor McDavid (+220).
Related: Minnesota Wild vs Nashville Predators Started with Back-to-Back Fights
The fact that they backdated Kirill’s injured list designation (hopefully) tells us that they hope to have him back sooner, rather than later. That is the good news. They didn’t place him on long-term injured reserve, which would require him to miss ten games. But still, the Minnesota Wild roster is thinner than tissue paper right now and any game without Kirill Kaprizov is one game too many for this offense.
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