Zulgad: Priority No. 1 is No. 97: Owner knows most important thing on Wild's to-do list next summer will be locking up Kirill Kaprizov
Craig Leipold said "the money is going to work itself out" when it comes to the star winger, but will that be enough to stop him from wanting to explore free agency after the 2025-26 season?
Craig Leipold made no attempt to hide his enthusiasm on Tuesday night as he discussed what will happen next July 1 when his Minnesota Wild can finally resume being players in free agency. That has been next to impossible in recent years as the exorbitant salary cap charge (a combined $14,743,588) for the 2021 buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter have made it impossible for general manager Bill Guerin to make big-ticket additions.
“Next July 1 is going to be like Christmas,” the owner said during the first intermission of the Wild-Blackhawks preseason game as he held his yearly get-together with the media in his suite at Xcel Energy Center.
Leipold declined to name any potential targets, but said Guerin and his staff know who they want to pursue.
No matter who is on that list, the Wild’s most important Canada Day target already is wearing their jersey. Left winger Kirill Kaprizov, the best player in franchise history, is entering the fourth season of a five-year, $45 million contract and will be eligible to sign an extension next July 1.
It’s safe to assume the Wild’s to-do list for next offseason will start with getting Kaprizov signed to a multi-year deal that will make him among the NHL’s highest-paid players.
The most important question, and one only Kaprizov can answer, is what is he looking for from the Wild? Is money his primary goal, or does he need to see that a team that missed the playoffs last season and failed to advance past the first round in his first three years is significantly improved?
“He wants to win,” Leipold said, “so we have to prove to not only to him, but to other (unrestricted free agents) that we also want to win. And we're used to winning. And this is the State of Hockey, and we're going to get back to the winning ways. We're going to get a perennial playoff team, but it does start with Kirill. He’s going to be the focus of what we're going to do. We plan to re-sign him. I will tell you nobody will offer more money than us, or longer. So all we have to do is prove to him that we want to win.”
Guerin and Leipold both have made it clear they expect a much better season — although Leipold said “there is no pressure on Bill” — but talking about it and paying it off are very different things. Minnesota’s 87 points last season were its fewest since 2020-21 and because of its salary-cap situation there wasn’t room to make any impact additions. There are a handful of veterans who need to bounce back from subpar seasons, but it’s risky to count on all of them rebounding.
There also is the unknown of whether Kaprizov wants to remain in Minnesota, or wait to hit free agency and explore opportunities to play on Broadway for the Rangers, or head for South Beach to play for the Florida Panthers. Winger Marian Gaborik, the best player in franchise history before Kaprizov arrived, played out his contract before signing a five-year contract with the New York Rangers in 2009. The Wild’s failure to trade Gaborik before or during the last season of his contract left them with nothing in return.
Kaprizov, who had 46 goals last season and enters this season fourth in franchise history with 160 goals in 278 games, has the hammer because he has a no-move clause in the final two seasons of his contract, meaning he can’t be traded unless he agrees to a deal. But if he is intent on exploring the market, Guerin almost certainly would ask him to waive that protection.
Leipold sounds confident it won’t come to that, but what else is he going to say about the 27-year-old Russian superstar? Leipold said he hasn’t had a conversation with Kaprizov about whether he would leave if the Wild doesn’t win this season, but reiterated that writing the check won’t be a problem. Leipold knows money talks and the Wild is the only team that can offer Kaprizov a contract with an eight-year term.
As far as the dollar amount, Karprizov is unlikely to match the top guys in the NHL — Toronto’s Auston Matthews (four years, $53 million, $13.25 cap hit); Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon (eight years, $100.8 million, $12.6 million cap hit); or Edmonton’s Connor McDavid (eight years, $100 million, $12.5 million cap hit and also set to hit free agency after the 2025-26 season) — but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to hit pay dirt.
Oilers star Leon Draisaitl, one of the NHL’s best, recently signed an eight-year, $112 million extension that will begin in 2025-26 and carry a $14 million cap hit next season, passing Matthews.
The good news for the Wild is that along with Parise and Suter coming off the books, the salary cap is finally beginning to increase on a yearly basis. Leipold also might have to decide whether he’s willing to change his long-standing policy on signing bonuses. That could open up a can of worms, if it’s done, but, then again, playing hardball with Kaprizov could cost the Wild more in the long run.
“The money is going to work itself out. I'm not concerned about that. It will be there,” Leipold said.
But will that be enough?