After firing, Dean Evason reveals Kirill Kaprizov 'still in recovery mode'
Lips are tight in the NHL when it comes to injuries, but one day after being fired by the Minnesota Wild, coach Dean Evason revealed that star winger Kirill Kaprizov hasn't been the same since suffering an injury late last season.
Kaprizov was injured March 8, 2023 when Winnipeg's Logan Stanley ran into him from behind and fell on top of him. The Wild star crumbled to the ice and did not play for a month before returning for the last two games of the regular season.
"I think his injury took a lot out of him. He comes back and plays two games and then the playoffs, and he’s still in recovery mode. He’s had it looked at again this year. I don’t want to give secrets out, but that’s a hard injury to recover from," Evason told Michael Russo of The Athletic. "Has that affected his ability to have the pace? Yes, 100 percent. I do believe that. Kirill Kaprizov is trying his ass off. He just hasn’t found his skating pace that we are accustomed to."
Evason saying he doesn't want to "give out secrets" is a concerning message, especially when you consider that Kaprizov has looked like a shell of himself this season with just six goals and 12 assists in 20 games.
Nov 7, 2023; Elmont, New York, USA; Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov (97) skates across the blue line against the New York Islanders during the third period at UBS Arena.
Credit: Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports
Before Stanley crunched Kaprizov to cause the injury, Kaprizov had 39 goals and 35 assists. He had just one goal and no assists in Minnesota's six-game playoff series loss to the Stars.
Add it all up and he has just eight goals and 12 assists in 26 games since the injury.
That's a drop from 1.14 points per game pre-injury to 0.77 points per game post-injury.
How long the injury will slow Kaprizov is the million-dollar question, but for a team that historically has gone as Kaprizov goes, it's not good news.
