Wild trade deadline move: Hope Kirill Kaprizov returns during the regular season

VANCOUVER – A first-line scoring winger who already clicks with the team is the player the Wild targeted to help with their playoff preparation.

That’s why they didn’t make any other additions before the NHL trade deadline expired Friday afternoon, because they’re awaiting the return of superstar Kirill Kaprizov.

“If we want Kirill Kaprizov to play in the regular season, we can’t do anything else,” President of Hockey Operations Bill Guerin said. “So, no, we weren’t close on anything because we didn’t try.”

The Wild’s season-long salary-cap crunch induced by injuries flared at the deadline, with the team only in the market for money-for-money movement after acquiring veteran forward Gustav Nyquist last Saturday from Nashville for a 2026 second-round draft pick.

They brought in 6-foot-6 winger Justin Brazeau from Boston on Thursday night for forwards Jakub Lauko and Marat Khusnutdinov and a 2026 sixth-rounder, then were idle Friday (except for trading forward Reese Johnson to Toronto for future considerations) as their competition in the Central Division loaded up.

Colorado traded for former Wild forward Charlie Coyle (also from the Bruins) after picking up Warroad native and longtime Islander Brock Nelson a day earlier. Dallas landed Mikko Rantanen from Carolina and signed him to an eight-year, $96 million extension, and Winnipeg’s newcomers are veteran defenseman Luke Schenn and winger Brandon Tanev. The Wild did make three paper transactions, assigning and then recalling forwards Devin Shore and Brendan Gaunce and defenseman David Jiricek so they’re eligible to return to Iowa in the American Hockey League; they have one non-emergency call-up left for the season.

“You want to be involved, but you know what? We’re just at a different stage than those teams,” Guerin said. “We’ll have our day.”

If the Wild weren’t saving their approximately $7.5 million cap space, they could have made a similar splash, but that would have ruled out Kaprizov until playoff time when the salary cap is lifted.

Instead, they kept the possibility of activating him off long-term injured reserve during the regular season on the table, which is their expectation despite his recovery from surgery on a lower-body injury taking longer than anticipated and the team having no timeline for when he’ll be ready. Guerin said he isn’t sure when Kaprizov, center Joel Eriksson Ek and defenseman Jonas Brodin, who are also hurt, will resume skating.

“I’m running a business,” Guerin said. “I’m running a team. We have assets. Our time will come.”

Guerin also pointed out the high cost of trades, with many deals including first or second-round picks and/or a roster player going the other way.

“We’ve had a plan going for four years,” he said, “and I’m not going to screw that up just being shortsighted. That’s where I am.”

With Brazeau, who was traveling to Vancouver on Friday to meet up with the Wild before their road trip finale against the Canucks, the Wild get bigger while bringing a rare right shot into their forward mix.

“We were looking for something different,” Guerin said about moving on from Lauko and Khusnutdinov, a one-time promising prospect at center who was recently demoted to the minors to help the Wild have enough cap space for Kaprizov.

“He could push his ceiling up higher,” Guerin said of Khusnutdinov. “Right now, it’s just not what we feel we need.”

Lauko spoke with coach John Hynes after the trade, which reunites him with the team that sent him to the Wild last summer.

The winger appeared in only 38 games with the Wild due to injury, but concern over his availability for the playoffs wasn’t discussed as a reason for Lauko’s departure, Hynes said.

“He was very disappointed to leave,” Hynes mentioned, “but going back to a place and people that he knew I think was comforting for him.”

So, the Wild have changed but not by much.

They’re entrusting their playoff fate in the hands of the players who got them here — once the Wild get healthy.

“You’ve seen some teams around the league can add [a] tremendous amount of players and free agents and things like that, and it doesn’t fit,” Hynes said. “I think we have a really good team.

“We have a group that fits.”