Wild hit with another brutal Kirill Kaprizov injury update

The Minnesota Wild have been plagued by injuries in 2024-25. Kirill Kaprizov, arguably the team’s best player, suffered a lower-body injury that required surgery in late January and while he was initially expected to miss around a month, that timeline has changed.

Wild GM Bill Guerin shed light on the situation on Friday.

Via NHL.com:

“I think he’s going to be out longer than we originally expected. How much, I cannot answer,” Guerin told KFAN radio in Minneapolis. “I just don’t know, we’ll see how he progresses. That’s really where we’re at.

“He’s just recovering right now, and we’ll see how it turns out, but he’s going to be a little longer than we expected. And what that does with our (salary) cap situation? I don’t know because when he’s healthy, we’ll put him back in. If he’s not, then we won’t.”

Despite being out of the lineup since January 26, Kaprizov still leads the Wild in points with 52. The 27-year-old is biting at the bit to get back on the ice, as Guerin revealed last month:

“He’s frustrated, and I don’t blame him either,” Guerin said. “The start he had, he was taking the League by storm and then you get this injury that sets you back and takes you out. He was having a Hart Trophy-type season and I’d be frustrated too. But we’re just trying to keep him busy and helping him out as much as we can, but he’s frustrated.”

The Wild are still having a respectable campaign, however, sitting in third place in the Central Division with a 34-19-4 record. The playoffs appear to be a serious reality this season and having Kaprizov healthy sooner rather than later would certainly help Minnesota’s push. They grabbed a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday in their first game since the 4 Nations Face-Off.