Timeline for MN Wild Veteran’s Absence Revealed

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Mats Zuccarello, Minnesota Wild
Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Wild made significant noise on Tuesday when they announced the massive contract extension for superstar Kirill Kaprizov. He is now with the team through the 2033-34 season, and the 28-year-old will focus on bringing a Stanley Cup to the State of Hockey.

General manager Bill Guerin operated this offseason largely with the belief that young returning players will step up. A significant amount of roster turnover wasn’t in the cards, and that’s more than fine if he’s right.

Unfortunately head coach John Hynes will be without Mats Zuccarello for quite some time to start the season.

Mats Zuccarello injury will cost him months for MN Wild

The Minnesota Wild have employed veteran winger Mats Zuccarello for the past six seasons. Short of the Covid-19 pandemic year, he has played in at least 65 games each season. That mark will likely not be hit in 2025-26.

Zuccarello’s lower body injury is going to cost him a minimum of two months, and the uncertainty to put a definitive end on his absence is alarming as well. The Athletic’s Michael Russo has reported the lower-body injury also requires surgery.

At 38 years old, it’s not as though Zuccarello is a spring chicken anymore. He will certainly need a period of time to ramp back up once medically cleared as well.

Last season Zuccarello poured in 19 goals (54 points) in 69 games. He averaged 19:39 minutes of time on ice per game, and was a consistent top-six option for the MN Wild.

Both Matt Boldy and Vladimir Tarasenko are ahead of Zuccarello from a lineup perspective at this point. When he does return, the Norwegian will need to compete with the likes of Danila Yurov and Marcus Foligno for ice time.

Vladimir Tarasenko becomes more important for Wild

It has been a while since Vladimir Tarasenko has lived up to the goal-scoring prowess of his heyday with the St. Louis Blues. Minnesota is hoping they can recapture that magic after grabbing him from the Detroit Red Wings.

Tarasenko, now 33 years old, is coming off an 11 goal (33 points) season for the Red Wings. He played in 80 games but logged a minus-13 for the season. Early returns have been promising with Minnesota, but Tarasenko will need to carry that performance into the regular season.

Kirill Kaprizov will handle top-line wing duties with Boldy. It’s expected that Liam Ohgren will match up with Tarasenko on the second line. If the Wild can get the veteran gelling with the youngster, they could put together a solid one-two punch.

Minnesota kicks off their season on Thursday October 9th against the Blues in St. Louis. You can bet that Tarasenko would love to have a good showing in that one.

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