All eyes are on Kirill Kaprizov’s contract situation with Minnesota Wild offseason underway

“I don’t want to be a guy who just plays to play,” the 37-year-old winger said. “I want to play because I feel like I’m good enough to play. So, that’s why I gotta take the next year to see where the team’s going, where I would fit in.”

Together, Zuccarello and Kaprizov were a dominant duo at the beginning of the season before injuries sidelined both.

Zuccarello was the first to get hurt, on a shot to the midsection by teammate Brock Faber in November, and then Kaprizov sat out because of a lower-body injury for which he eventually underwent surgery; he ended up missing half the season.

In 41 games, Kaprizov tallied 25 goals and 31 assists for 56 points.

“It’s tough because you feel so good the early season,” said Kaprizov, who mentioned he’s “good now” and doesn’t need any more surgery. “Feel so good, and then it’s surgery coming. You don’t play like three months, three-and-a-half. It’s just a little bit mental, too, a little bit tough because you’re always without team.

“You’re alone. You’re home. You’re staying here, no travels, just do your stuff every day in the gym and stuff like this. It’s a tough year, but something happened. I can do nothing with this.”