Wild’s Mats Zuccarello to miss at least seven to eight weeks after surgery

Kirill Kaprizov’s future is set, but longtime linemate Mats Zuccarello won’t be joining him in action anytime soon.

Zuccarello will be sidelined at least seven to eight weeks after the veteran winger had surgery on a lower-body injury that has kept him out all of training camp.

The team announced the news Tuesday after Kaprizov signed his record-breaking eight-year, $136 million contract extension.

In Zuccarello’s absence, the Wild have been auditioning winger Liam Ohgren in the top-six forward group alongside Joel Eriksson Ek and Vladimir Tarasenko, a trio that played in the Wild’s 3-2 preseason victory over Winnipeg on Tuesday night at Grand Casino Arena.

But the Wild do have options to consider.

“It’s still a competitive spot,” coach John Hynes said. “Is it Ohgren? [Danila] Yurov? [Marcus] Johansson? [Marcus] Foligno? Who’s going to fill it? That remains to be seen.”

PRESEASON BOXSCORE: Wild 3, Winnipeg 2

He’s in the final season of his two-year, $8.25 million contract, and the 38-year-old was undecided going into the offseason whether he would retire at the end of his deal.

For the first time in the preseason, the Wild played most of their regulars against the Jets.

Kaprizov suited up and saluted the crowd when his new contract was cheered during a break in the first period. (Outside the arena, St. Paul temporarily renamed W. 7th Street “W 97th Street” to honor Kaprizov and his extension. The sign is on the traffic signal at the intersection of Kellogg Boulevard and W. 7th Street/Eagle Street.)

Aside from setting up Matt Boldy in the first period, Kaprizov scored on the power play in the second (tipping in a Zeev Buium shot) before a Foligno shorthanded breakaway during the third completed the Wild’s comeback. The Wild penalty kill went 4-for-4, and Jesper Wallstedt had 26 saves in net.

“I thought Wally was really solid,” Hynes said. “He got tested a bit tonight. He came up big. I thought he saw pucks. He was competitive in the net. I thought he made some big saves for us when we needed them, particularly down the stretch, in the 6-on-5. Couple nice saves on the penalty kill, so I thought he was really solid.”

“He was a left wing for the majority of his career,” Hynes said of Yurov, “so trying to see what he would look like.”

On defense, veteran right-shot Zach Bogosian lined up on the left side, a move that might be necessary if the Wild don’t have Jonas Brodin available for the start of the season.

Brodin continues to skate as he recovers from offseason surgery.

“We were looking at probably maybe the end of the month versus maybe the first couple weeks,” Hynes said. “It’s trending more towards the beginning of the month or mid-month. If he really continues to get better, I wouldn’t take Game 1 off the table. But I do think that he has short-tracked his time to come back, whether that’s for Game 1 or not.”

As for Nico Sturm, the returning center hasn’t suffered a setback as he deals with a back issue, but Hynes said Sturm will be held off the ice for a few days.

Their last preseason game is Friday night at Chicago.