Wild finally get some good news on Kaprizov

According to a report from Minnesota Wild insider Joe Smith of The Athletic, injured Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov hit the ice today for the first time since suffering a serious lower body injury in early March.

From Smith's article this morning for The Athletic:

Monday morning, before the Wild’s pregame skate with the Vegas Golden Knights, Kirill Kaprizov is expected to skate with skating and skills coach Andy Ness for the first time since sustaining a lower-body body injury on March 8, according to multiple team sources.

The big question now remains whether there’s enough time for Kaprizov to be ready before the end of the regular season.

The initial goal for a Kaprizov return was three to four weeks. Wednesday marks four weeks from Kaprizov’s injury in Winnipeg when Logan Stanley fell on top of him. General manager Bill Guerin has indicated the hope is Kaprizov can play in the final week of the regular season.

“You never know, right?” coach Dean Evason said. “I don’t know, honestly. We’ll get him on the ice and have a better idea.”

“Any player, you want them to play some games obviously before the playoffs,” Evason said. “You don’t want to just put them in the playoffs. Having said that, can Kirill Kaprizov step in and play if his first game was the playoffs? I’m sure he’d be fine. But, the same for any other player, we’d like to get them a few games before.”

- Joe Smith

Obviously, Kaprizov's addition to the lineup would be a HUGE boon for the Wild. The 25 year old Russian has 39 goals and 74 points in 65 games this season and was pushing a 100 point pace when he went down with injury back on March 8th, 2023. Here's hoping he can get back into the lineup as soon as possible and give himself at least a few regular season games under his belt before gearing up for the post-season. The Wild have officially clinched a playoff spot, so there's no rush to get Kaprizov back into the lineup other than to help get him into shape for the post-season grind.