{"id":447725,"date":"2026-02-05T21:15:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T21:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/447725\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T21:15:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T21:15:14","slug":"the-wild-must-find-kirill-kaprizovs-hockey-soulmate-minnesota-wild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/447725\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wild Must Find Kirill Kaprizov’s Hockey Soulmate – Minnesota Wild"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIt\u2019s February, and anyone who\u2019s socially active knows what that means. Valentine\u2019s Day is around the corner, and while this article isn\u2019t meant to be a reminder to order flowers and chocolates, it may be one for Bill Guerin<\/a>, who is looking for that special someone ahead of the trade deadline.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tGuerin is currently playing matchmaker, and he\u2019s already set the Wild up<\/a> with the addition of Quinn Hughes<\/a>. Things have been getting serious as Minnesota has established itself as one of the top teams in the NHL. With one more trade, it could help them go all the way (or at least get out of the first round of the playoffs).\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile Hughes has hit it off<\/a> with Brock Faber<\/a> on the blue line, Kirill Kaprizov<\/a> is still looking for his hockey soulmate in a top-line center. The options are limited, but as the dynamic between Hughes and Faber has shown us, it may be worth taking a swing.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tMost people have been told at some point in their lives to find someone who looks at them the way someone looks at their significant other. While there haven\u2019t been any spicy glances between them, Hughes and Faber have been quite the power couple on the Wild\u2019s blue line.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tFaber wasn\u2019t playing poorly before Hughes arrived, but Hughes has helped him elevate his offensive game. Since the Wild acquired<\/a> Hughes on Dec. 14, Faber ranks sixth among defensemen with seven goals. He\u2019s also been able to jump into plays when opponents focus their attention on Hughes, ranking 12th among defensemen with 21 points and tied for 13th with 14 assists.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tBecause of this, Faber is enjoying a breakout season<\/a>. With 13 goals in 57 games before Wednesday\u2019s pre-Olympic finale against the Nashville Predators, he is threatening for his first 20-goal season \u2013 a mark that only Cale Makar<\/a>, Zach Werenski<\/a>, and Jakob Chychrun<\/a> reached last season. He\u2019d also be the ninth defenseman since the 2005-06 season to reach that mark during or before their age 23 season.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThat’s an encouraging development for Faber after seeing his point total drop from 47 in his rookie year to 29 last season, and it\u2019s shown in his plus\/minus rating, which has jumped to plus-19 after registering a minus-3 in his first three seasons.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tOf course, Hughes has had the same effect on the rest of the team. The Wild were tied for 22nd with 90 goals in the 32 games before Hughes\u2019s arrival. However, they\u2019ve jumped to second with 96 goals in the 25 games since, trailing only the Buffalo Sabres, who have 97 in that time frame.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\tMinnesota also ranks second in power-play goals (23) and fourth in goal differential (+19) since the Hughes trade, which has elevated their offensive upside as they face a potential playoff matchup with the Colorado Avalanche or the Dallas Stars.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tBut again, where does this leave Kaprizov?\n<\/p>\n

\n\tKaprizov has been on a heater with seven goals in his past six games. He’s tied for fifth among skaters with 35 points, and tied for seventh with 14 goals and 21 assists since Hughes arrived. Still, what would happen if the Wild paired him with a true No. 1 center?\n<\/p>\n

\n\tTo the Wild\u2019s credit, Kaprizov has struck up a hockey bromance<\/a> with\u00a0Mats Zuccarello<\/a>, who has connected numerous times over the years. Kaprizov has also developed chemistry<\/a> with Hughes over 25 games, which has continued to put him among the game’s elite offensive weapons.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile that\u2019s great, Zuccarello is a fellow wing, and Kaprizov isn’t always on the ice at the same time as Hughes. There\u2019s something about filling the missing piece on a line that could take the entire group to the next level.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tLike the defense position, which Jared Spurgeon<\/a>\u00a0and Jonas Brodin<\/a>\u00a0have anchored over the years, the Wild have swiped through their share of centers in the top role. While Joel Eriksson Ek<\/a>, Ryan Hartman<\/a>, and Danila Yurov<\/a> have been fine, it\u2019s always felt like they were playing one or two lines above their suited role when placed on the top line.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tOf course, Kaprizov has done just fine with what he\u2019s been given, closing in on Marian Gaborik<\/a>\u2019s franchise record for goals scored. But that\u2019s where Guerin needs to show the same matchmaker skills he used with the Hughes trade.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tVincent Trocheck<\/a> could solve that<\/a> in the short term, but he may not be worth<\/a> the prospect package\u00a0that might include Charlie Stramel or Jesper Wallstedt<\/a> to get it done. Shane Wright<\/a> could be too much of a project for the Wild to target at the age of 22, and Robert Thomas<\/a> could cost<\/a> the Wild a divisional tax that could be too rich for Guerin\u2019s blood.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe next tier of trade targets on the board could only be a temporary solution as Nazem Kadri<\/a> goes deeper into his 30s and Charlie Coyle<\/a> is a free agent at the end of the season. Ryan O\u2019Reilly<\/a> could also be a solid addition to fill the top center role in the playoffs. However, he could cost more than he should because the Nashville Predators are looking to rebuild.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s also a chance that Guerin waits until the summer, when more names could become available. But that might not be as appealing for a team that has a sense of urgency to win now.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWhatever Guerin decides, it has to be a similar match to the way Hughes has worked with Faber so far. If he\u2019s able to do it, it could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship on the Wild\u2019s top line.\n<\/p>\n

\n Think you could write a story like this? Hockey Wilderness wants you to develop your voice, find an audience, and we’ll pay you to do it. Just fill out this form<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s February, and anyone who\u2019s socially active knows what that means. Valentine\u2019s Day is around the corner, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":447726,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5118],"tags":[5,537,161,38,5280,4,162],"class_list":{"0":"post-447725","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-wild","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-kirill-kaprizov","10":"tag-minnesota","11":"tag-minnesota-wild","12":"tag-minnesotawild","13":"tag-nhl","14":"tag-wild"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116020099388342826","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=447725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/447726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=447725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=447725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=447725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}