Article: When Will Kirill Kaprizov Catch Fire Again?

[Eric Forga]

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[Lovehockey]

Kaprisov will catch  fire when he will be surrounded by the better players. zucarello is still good but u definitely can see his age. And Yorov is promising but as of now not even close to be first (and probably) second center. So aside from power plays he basically working and scoring at 70 % along . And it is easy to see if u look how Boldy -Ek work. Johansson play definitely helps as well. 

[Pewterschmidt]

He got the game winning assist with a greasy sauce pass that very few players on this roster could execute.  

[Dis-allowed display name]

I notice his line gets shut down a lot, and when I am noticing this, I am often noticing the defensemen on this ice with him are not Hughes and Boldy.  

I have no problem with Zucc because they work so well together, but he could really use a big center who has to draw attention in front of the net, or a highly skilled center that draws a little more heat.  I almost feel Ek might be the best option right now, but that probably screws up the lines a bit.

[OldDutchChip]

he is saving it for conn smythe run while acclimating to a new center and a new D1 force (both need to iron out some timing and roles before becoming best version of themselves) and yes that injury is still fresh on his mind. 

i still think he finishes the year at 100 pts mark

[Burnt Toast]

41 minutes ago, Dis-allowed display name said:

he could really use a big center

This is my hope for the Trade Deadline. Just get the best available willing to come to MN. 

[ArizonaWildFan]

This isn't a knock on Yurov, but with the current roster I think Hartman needs to slot in between Kaprizov and Zuccarello, leave Ek-Boldy-Johansson in tact, go back to the Red Army line of Yurov, Tarasenko and Trenin, and finish with Sturm, Foligno and Hinostroza.

Hartman elevates his game on the top line and has a better read of the game than Yurov does at this point of his young career. Kaprizov's numbers would be better IMO with Ek or Rossi centering,  but those aren't options.

Put the Red Army line either before or after Kaprizov's line and let him take Trenin's spot a few shifts a game to give that line a little more offensive pop.

I haven't looked at the stats and crunched numbers, but the anemic first PP unit of Kaprizov, Boldy, Ek, Zuccarello and Hughes are not helping Kaprizov's numbers right now. No sense of urgency and too much perimeter puck movement. I would replace Zuccarello with either Faber or Hartman. Hartman gives an additional net front presence and is a good face off option with Ek. Faber ran the point prior to Hughes arrival and was very successful.

The Olympic roster freeze and the TDL are approaching quickly. There doesn't appear to be any great 1C options on the horizon. HCJH and GMBG better figure out how to make the current roster work. The back-to-back in LA was like the first two games of a playoff series and we know how that went. Sadly, it's beginning to look a lot like deja vu all over again. 

[Pewterschmidt]

BJ is back

#freebenjones

[FredJohnson]

4 hours ago, Burnt Toast said:

This is my hope for the Trade Deadline. Just get the best available willing to come to MN. 

Charlie Stramel??

[Rohn]

IMHO, Kirill's lower body injury dates back nearly three years, when Winnipeg's Jolly Green Giant, Logan Stanley, flopped into him, smashing Kirill flat with his leg splayed into the splits.  There's your groin injury, AKA the lower body injury that recurred and cost Kirill half of last season.  Last January's operation for the "lower body injury" must not have fully healed with Stanley did to him.  That's just my take, of course.  I'd be grateful to be disabused of this notion, if factual statements to the contrary have been issued by the Wild or by Kirill.  Alternate theories to mine are welcome also.    

[Quebec1648]

43 minutes ago, Rohn said:

IMHO, Kirill's lower body injury dates back nearly three years, when Winnipeg's Jolly Green Giant, Logan Stanley, flopped into him, smashing Kirill flat with his leg splayed into the splits.  There's your groin injury, AKA the lower body injury that recurred and cost Kirill half of last season.  Last January's operation for the "lower body injury" must not have fully healed with Stanley did to him.  That's just my take, of course.  I'd be grateful to be disabused of this notion, if factual statements to the contrary have been issued by the Wild or by Kirill.  Alternate theories to mine are welcome also.    

The Logan Stanley incident combined with an aging Zuccarello, are the primary reasons I continually advocate for Bill Guerin to swing a trade for Brady Tkachuk or someone like him. A Kaprizov - Tkachuk combo addresses both issues, it gives Kaprizov a new dynamic partner for when Zuccarello retires, while also adding a big body to ward off any future repeats of the Logan Stanley incident.

If we had Brady Tkachuk on the roster back when the Stanley incident occurred, either it might be avoided altogether, or Brady Tkachuk would respond to Stanley.