Wild eliminate concern and distraction by signing Kirill Kaprizov to record deal
Now the pressure is on the superstar winger to help deliver a Stanley Cup to Minnesota.
Bill Guerin said Tuesday what everyone else had been thinking about the possibility of Kirill Kaprizov departing Minnesota as a free agent next July. “We never wanted to even entertain Kirill not being here,” said Guerin, the Wild’s general manager. “ … If it went the other way, it would have been devastating.”
Guerin had the advantage of saying this after Kaprizov signed an eight-year contract extension worth $138 million. It’s the richest contract in terms of dollars and average annual value ($17 million per season) in NHL history.
The contract is a massive commitment from both sides — Kaprizov will make $9 million in 2025-26, the final season of his current five-year contract, before his new deal begins in 2026-27 and runs through 2033-34.
The Wild are banking on the 28-year-old left winger continuing to be one of the NHL’s superstars for many years to come, and Kaprizov is betting on helping the Wild win their first Stanley Cup. It will be a big disappointment if both of these things don’t happen.
Still, it’s no small gamble considering the Wild haven’t been past the first round of the playoffs for the past 10 seasons and haven’t been as far as the conference finals since Kaprizov was 6 years old.
There will be some who point to the Wild signing free agents Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to matching 13-year, $98 million contracts in 2012 as a reason why the Kaprizov contract isn’t a good idea. Wild owner Craig Leipold had visions of Stanley Cup parades in St. Paul after those deals were done.
Not only did that not happen but Guerin’s decision to buy out their contracts in 2021 left the Wild with little salary cap space for multiple seasons. That finally ended in July and now the Wild are making another big investment in a player.
In this case, the team had no choice.
Kaprizov is the best player in the Wild’s 25 years and it’s not even close. Entering his sixth NHL season, he already is near the top of many key statistical categories in Wild history. His 47 goals in 2021-22 are the most scored by a Wild player in a single season, and his 46 goals in 2023-24 are second on that list.
Last season, Kaprizov was in the running for the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP before he underwent surgery to repair an abdominal injury in late January. That cost him half the season, but he still finished with 25 goals and 56 points in the 41 games he played. Kaprizov returned for the Wild’s first-round playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights and had five goals and nine points in six games.
The Wild lost that series, just as they have the other four first-round series since Kaprizov arrived as a 23-year-old in 2021.
When Kaprizov reportedly turned down the Wild’s eight-year, $128 million contract offer three weeks ago, there was concern that he saw no path for the team to win a Stanley Cup and that money wasn’t the issue. “No matter how much you make, where you live, or anything, if the hockey’s not good, you won’t be happy,” Guerin said of Kaprizov’s desire to win. “That’s the one thing I love about Kirill. He’s so focused on the hockey part.”
Guerin, to his credit, was focused on the negotiating part and making sure the contract got done before the regular season opens next Thursday in St. Louis. Without the deal, Kaprizov and his teammates would have had to answer countless questions about his contract.