Surgery will all but end MVP hopes for Wild star

The Minnesota Wild announced on Tuesday that star forward Kirill Kaprizov is going to undergo surgery for a lower-body injury that is going to sideline him for at least the next four weeks. 

General manager Bill Guerin said "it is not a season-ending injury," but it is still a disappointment to see him be sidelined for an extended period of time. 

Kaprizov had missed 12 games in recent weeks before finally returning a few games ago. But after appearing in just three games after his return, it was determined that surgery would be the best course for him to take.

On one hand, the timing of it might actually be perfect for the Wild and Kaprizov. The NHL has no games on the schedule for two weeks in February due to the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament that is replacing the league's All-Star game. The Wild do not have any games between Feb. 8 and Feb. 22, which will cover a significant portion of Kaprizov's recovery. 

Even with that, he is still probably going to miss at least 10 games, including each of the next six games before the tournament begins.

Combined with the games he has already missed this season, that is going to be at least 20 games missed for Kaprizov this season, and almost certainly more. 

That is over a quarter of the season.

It is a disappointing because prior to the injury issues, Kaprizov was playing at an MVP level and was putting together the type of season that could have made him a front-runner for the award. In 37 games this season, he already has 23 goals, 29 assists and 52 total points for a Minnesota team that has exceeded almost all expectations and become a legitimate contender in the Western Conference. That 1.41 points-per-game average is fifth best in the entire league, behind only Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay Lightning), Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche), Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers) and Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers). 

The Wild have never had an MVP in the history of their franchise, but Kaprizov probably could have given them their best chance at it. Missing this many games all but eliminates him from contention no matter how well he has played or how much he has produced this season. 

The more important thing, though, is making sure he is healthy for the playoffs. Having the surgery now and fixing the issue that is bothering him is the best possible outcome for that.