A grizzled college hockey coach once said of his puck-moving but turnover-prone team captain: “He makes six big plays in every game. Three for us and three for them.”
The numbers aren’t quite that stark with Minnesota Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov, but expected offensive prowess has been countered, somewhat by giveaways during the team’s sluggish start. In Tuesday’s overtime loss to Winnipeg, an off-target pass by the Russian star ended up in possession of the Jets, and a few seconds later the puck was in the Wild net as they lost their fourth in a row.
While Wednesday’s team skate at TRIA Rink was optional, Wild coach John Hynes said a conversation with Kaprizov was on his agenda before Pittsburgh came to visit on Thursday.
“I see a guy that’s highly competitive that wants to win, that wants to be a difference maker. I think there’s certain aspects of his game that I need to talk with him about,” Hynes said the day after Winnipeg rallied to beat the Wild, 4-3, in overtime — Minnesota’s eighth loss in the past nine games.
The general consensus among the coach and players is that sometimes, especially when a team is slumping and desperate for a feel-good win, players can try to do too much and the results can be costly.
“When the team’s down in the game, when the team’s down in the standings, guys like Kirill, guys like (Matt Boldy), they want to help. They know their responsibility, They try to make plays,” Wild general manager Bill Guerin said Wednesday. “And sometimes it’s maybe not in the right areas.
“It appears to be careless, but it’s not careless. It’s a desire to make a play and to help create offense and get the team going. They’re trying to carry the team. They’re trying to help us get back where we should be.”
Kaprizov started Wednesday with 19 giveaways, 14th in the NHL, and only one takeaway in 11 games.
Guerin noted that even with the Wild’s 3-5-3 start, and the continued absence of regular linemate Mats Zuccarello, Kaprizov’s 15 points in the first 11 games puts him in the top 10 in the NHL. That’s four points behind league leader Jack Eichel of Vegas. Kaprizov’s second-period goal against Winnipeg on Tuesday was his first five-on-five score this season, but on the power play, he is tied for the NHL lead with four goals.
Kaprizov signed the largest contract extension in NHL history last month, eight years for $17 million annually, and there is a sense among some fans that he has lost a bit of fire. Hynes said to the contrary, he sees a player trying too hard.
“It’s not for a lack of effort or lack of care,” he said. “I just think there’s times where you have to have some better decisions. It’s sometimes doing the wrong things for the right reasons, right? You want to make the difference. You want to make a play, but sometimes they’re not there. I think that’s a big part of it.”
Kaprizov’s power play success is a big reason the Wild lead the league, scoring 31.8 percent of the time they have a man advantage.
Another ex-Gopher gets paid
On Wednesday, the Utah Mammoth inked former Gophers forward Logan Cooley to an eight-year contract extension that will pay him an average annual value of $10 million. In his lone season in Dinkytown, Cooley led the Gophers with 22 goals and 38 assists in 39 games as the 2022-23 team made it to the NCAA title game in Tampa.
That payday comes just a few weeks after his former Gophers teammate Jackson LaCombe signed the largest extension in Anaheim Ducks history, $9 million a season for the next eight years. Others from that ’22-23 Gophers team currently in the NHL include St. Louis Blues rookie Jimmy Snuggerud ($950,000 per season), Toronto Maples Leafs forward Matthew Knies ($7.75 million) and Wild defenseman Brock Faber ($8.5 million).
Cooley had a pair of goals on Saturday when the Mammoth beat the Wild 6-2 in St. Paul.
Briefly
Wild winger Yakov Trenin had an NHL-best 51 official hits before Wednesday’s games, and was third in hits per 60 minutes (21.3).
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