With Kaprizov out, should the Wild make a big trade sooner rather than later?

News broke Tuesday that Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov will undergo surgery to repair the lower-body injury sustained in December, and is expected to miss at least a few weeks.

Kaprizov got off to one of the hottest starts in the league, scoring 23 goals and 29 assists for 52 points in 37 games. Despite missing 13 games, the Wild forward leads the club in all offensive categories.

With Kaprizov out of the lineup for at least a month, should Minnesota general manager Bill Guerin to make a move ahead of the March 7 deadline? The Wild currently sit third in the Central Division, but without an elite offensive threat in Kaprizov, they may struggle to keep their head above water.

On Tuesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Daily Faceoff managing editor Matt Larkin steps in for Frank Seravalli to take on co-hosting duties with Tyler Yaremchuk. The pair discuss Kaprizov’s injury and where that leaves a Wild group hoping to make the playoffs.

Tyler Yaremchuk: If you’re Bill Guerin and you’re staring down the barrel of four-to-six weeks without Kaprizov, do you not get a little bit tempted just to pull the trigger on a move now instead of waiting and seeing how the market develops? If you like Brock Nelson and he was the guy you had in mind before the injury news, are you not thinking, “New York, what more do you want?”

Matt Larkin: I think it accelerates the timeline, and maybe they’re still pursuing Nelson because he could re-sign in Minnesota, his home state. But also, if it’s Kaprizov, you need to look for a direct replacement on the wing. Do you start making calls on players like Oliver Bjorkstrand to replace the scoring?

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…