Kirill Kaprizov is the most talented player the Minnesota Wild have ever had in their franchise history. For Minnesota GM Bill Guerin, locking up the Russian sensation for the long term is his top priority this upcoming season as Kaprizov enters the final season of his current deal. He has been eligible for a new deal since July 1st.
Kaprizov recorded 25 goals and 31 assists for 56 points in 41 games last season in an injury shortened year. That would have been on pace for a 112 point season that would have absolutely put him in the Hart trophy conversation given how important he is to that Wild team. Returning back to health in the playoffs, he registered 5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points in 6 games in the Wild’s 1st round series against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The 2020 5th round pick has played his entire 5 year career with Minnesota, amassing 185 goals and 201 assists for 386 points in 319 games across that stretch in the regular season. In the postseason, he has totaled 15 goals and 6 assists for 21 points in 25 games. The Wild have yet to win a playoff series in the Kaprizov era.
What is the latest on the Kaprizov contract?
Michael Russo on “DFO Rundown” recently provided a confusing update on Kaprizov extension talks that still leave the situation unclear. Apparently both parties are close when it comes to the dollar amount, which should not be an issue on the Wild’s side as they have the cap room to meet Kaprizov’s demands. However, there does seem to be some questions to what the term of the contract would be as Russo also claimed some things have been lost in translation over the summer and is waiting until the player returns to Saint Paul in order to resume talks.
Considering Kaprizov is the Wild’s franchise player, Minnesota should not play games when it comes to making him happy with this deal. We’ll see if they can get a deal done by the start of the season or if this situation gets dealt with in-season or later.
