Minnesota Wild Superstar Kirill Kaprizov May Require Emergency Surgery
Some very unfortunate news has come out from the Minnesota Wild today, as it appears their superstar Kirill Kaprizov will likely require emergency surgery.
Minnesota Wild's Kirill Kaprizov missed practice Tuesday and, according to several sources around the NHL, there have been discussions between Kaprizov, management, and his doctors over the past few days about whether Kaprizov could undergo surgery shortly for a lower-body injury that has been ailing him since mid-December.
Kaprizov could return in time for the playoffs
The Wild have no games from Feb. 9 to 21 when the NHL will be off for the 4 Nations Face-Off, so getting the surgery done now could allow Kaprizov to return well in advance of the playoffs.
The best way to approach this situation was still being figured out Monday night, according to a team source, but multiple sources close to Kaprizov said surgery is the likeliest outcome. An announcement is also expected shortly by the team.
The Wild, having won 4-2 over the Blackhawks on Sunday with Kaprizov returning to the lineup, depart Minnesota on Tuesday afternoon to proceed with their five-game trip through Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and Boston.
The 22-year-old winger had sat out 12 games, dating December 27 through Jan. 20, with a lower-body injury. Initially, he was considered day-to-day, and healing involved a series of trips for him to see specialists.
For two weeks, he skated intensively and then returned to competition on Jan. 23 versus Utah.
In three games played, Kaprizov generated two assists, eight shots, and a minus-2 rating, with the Wild at 1-2 over that span. On Sunday in Chicago, he played a high 22:17 for the Wild in a win.
Though Kaprizov's looks have displayed glimpses of conventional brilliance, skating hasn't yet reached its characteristic explosiveness since returning to competition, which is likely why surgery may be necessary to truly get him back to form.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Matthew Tkachuk | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Jack Hughes | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Luke Hughes | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jesper Bratt | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Quinn Hughes | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Timo Meier | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Brett Pesce | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Aleksander Barkov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nathan Bastian | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Sam Bennett | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Michael Carcone | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Marcus Foligno | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nils Hoglander | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Erik Karlsson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Linus Karlsson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Marat Khusnutdinov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Dawson Mercer | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Thomas Novak | 1 | - | 1 | |
| William Nylander | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Ondrej Palat | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Capitals | 50 | 34 | 11 | 5 | 73 | |
Jets | 52 | 35 | 14 | 3 | 73 | |
Oilers | 50 | 32 | 15 | 3 | 67 | |
Golden Knights | 51 | 31 | 15 | 5 | 67 | |
Hurricanes | 51 | 31 | 16 | 4 | 66 | |
Stars | 50 | 32 | 17 | 1 | 65 | |
Maple Leafs | 50 | 30 | 18 | 2 | 62 | |
Wild | 50 | 29 | 17 | 4 | 62 | |
Devils | 52 | 28 | 18 | 6 | 62 | |
Panthers | 51 | 29 | 19 | 3 | 61 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||