And the clearest signal that Kaprizov and Spurgeon would be back is that the Wild reassigned defenseman David Jiricek two hours after practice. If you did the salary cap math, it really was the only option to get below the cap ceiling once Kaprizov is activated from LTIR.

The Minnesota Wild survived without Kirill Kaprizov the first time, and they can do it again. That’s the message they sent Wednesday, when they upended the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 at Scotiabank Arena to kick off Kaprizov’s second hiatus with their most convincing victory in weeks.

While still holding the best road record in the NHL, Minnesota fell to below .500 at home (11-12-1) with the loss.

Upon his return from injury on Wednesday, Kirill Kaprizov’s teammates said they missed his smile. “It’s really good to have him back,” Kaprizov’s Norwegian bestie, Mats Zuccarello, said after seeing him after Wednesday’s practice.

On Saturday, the Wild closed out Hockey Day Minnesota 2025 on a disappointing note, with some penalty-kill struggles and defensive shortcomings that eventually led to a 5-4 win by the Calgary Flames. Trailing by three late, the Wild got a pair of goals in the final 77 seconds, but their rally fell just short.

Superstar winger Kirill Kaprizov and veteran defenseman Jared Spurgeon returned to practice on Wednesday. Head coach John Hynes told reporters he's "cautiously optimistic" that both will play in their upcoming game against the Utah Hockey Club at Xcel Energy Center.

As most Minnesota Wild fans have seen by now, their beloved star scorer, Kirill Kaprizov, is set to undergo surgery for a lower-body injury that has bothered him for most of the season.

Jared Spurgeon scored what turned out to be the winning goal in the first period and the visiting Minnesota Wild went on to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 on Wednesday night.

Andrei Kuzmenko had two goals and an assist, and the Calgary Flames used their power play to beat the Minnesota Wild 5-4.

The message, clearly, was received and understood, as Hynes’ team put together a 60-minute effort for its latest in a notable resume of road wins this season. The Wild got a pair of first period goals and played a strong defensive game in a 3-1 win in Toronto, beating the Maple Leafs in regulation for the first time since 2019.

Jared Spurgeon and Marat Khusnutdinov scored in the first period, Filip Gustavsson stopped 31 shots, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1.