Kaprizov (lower body) will be back in the lineup versus Utah on Thursday, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports. Kaprizov will return to the lineup for the first time since Dec. 23 against Chicago, a stretch of 12 games on long-term injured reserve.

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 have activated star Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon from injured reserve to put two integral players back in the lineup.

Kirill Kaprizov last played on Dec. 23, scoring his team-leading 23rd goal of the season in a win over the Chicago Blackhawks. He did not make the team’s post-Christmas trip to Dallas.

As per Michael Russo, the Minnesota Wild are set to activate Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon from the injured reserve and long-term injured reserve.

Having their best player and their captain back on the ice didn’t help them turn around their recent struggles at home.

The Minnesota Wild are getting a perfect storm of returns for Thursday evening against the Utah Hockey Club as both star forward Kirill Kaprizov and defenseman Jared Spurgeon have been activated from IR.

Kaprizov had a couple scoring chances for the Wild (28-16-4), who were delighted to get their superstar back after he missed the last 12 games with a lower-body injury. Karel Vejmelka made 26 saves for Utah (21-19-7) in what was just their second shutout win of the season.

David’s come in and I think he’s really shown some of his very good attributes,” John Hynes said, with a nod to Jiricek’s imposing 6-foot-3 frame. “You can’t teach size.”

The Minnesota Wild placed their top-scoring contributor on LTIR on Friday in Kirill Kaprizov because of an aggravated lower-body injury. Minnesota has been one of the NHL's biggest surprises in 2024-24, sitting in second place of the Central Division with 58 points.

The Wild activated star Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon from injured reserve before their game against Utah on Thursday, putting two integral players back in the lineup.

The Minnesota Wild activated star Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon from injured reserve before their game against Utah on Thursday, putting two integral players back in the lineup. Kaprizov last played on Dec.