Wild 'cautiously optimistic' Kaprizov, Spurgeon will return vs. Utah

The Wild could be getting both their best player and their captain back from injuries on Thursday night.

Superstar winger Kirill Kaprizov and veteran defenseman Jared Spurgeon returned to practice on Wednesday. Head coach John Hynes told reporters he's "cautiously optimistic" that both will play in their upcoming game against the Utah Hockey Club at Xcel Energy Center.

Kaprizov has missed the last 12 games with a lower-body injury suffered Dec. 23 against the Blackhawks. He was recently placed retroactively on long-term injured reserve, which was a move made purely for salary cap reasons. Now he appears set to make his return to the ice exactly one month after getting hurt.

Prior to the injury, Kaprizov was in Hart Trophy conversations as one of the NHL's best players. The 27-year-old three-time All-Star had 23 goals and 27 assists (50 total points) through 34 games, as well as a +21 rating. Even after missing 12 games, his 50 points remain a top-25 mark in the league.

The Wild have impressively managed to go 7-5 in Kaprizov's absence.

Spurgeon has missed the last nine games with a lower-body injury after getting slew-footed by the Predators' Zachary L'Heureux on Dec. 31. That play led to a three-game suspension for L'Heureux and a bunch of fights when the Wild and Predators met up again this past Saturday.

The 35-year-old Spurgeon, who is in his 15th season with Minnesota, had four goals and 13 points in 32 games before his injury.

To make room for Kaprizov and Spurgeon on their roster, the Wild will have to make a move of some sort. Young defenseman David Jiricek, who is coming off a pair of impressive games, might be headed to AHL Iowa.

Update: The Wild have indeed reassigned Jiricek to Iowa, which is essentially confirmation that Kaprizov and Spurgeon are back.

Kaprizov will obviously assume his spot on the Wild's top line with Mats Zuccarello and Marco Rossi. Spurgeon will return to a top-4 role in Minnesota's D corps.

Jonas Brodin and Marcus Johansson are still on the mend for the Wild, but both could be back in the not-too-distant future.

At 28-15-4, the Wild are currently in second place in the tightly-contested Central Division.