Until Kirill Kaprizov puts pen to paper on an extension with the Minnesota Wild, trade rumors and potential landing spots will continue to surface in hockey circles.
The superstar winger is heading into a contract year, and reports that he rejected a historic eight-year, $128 million offer from the Wild have changed everything.
What was once thought of as a sure thing—that Kaprizov would stay in Minnesota—is no longer, and everyone around the NHL has their eyes on this situation.
Plenty of teams have already been linked to Kaprizov, and one that’s recently come into discussion is the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs are on the rise and project to have the cap space to put forth a competitive contract offer; however, the question is what would it take to acquire Kaprizov in a trade?
Insider Marco D’Amico of RG Media was asked about it on “The Shaun Starr Show” and revealed that the price in return would be as high as Ivan Demidov.
“You have to understand they would ask for Demidov, right? Hands down. Because it’s a sign and trade, whatever happens here is a sign and trade. Or you’re expecting an eight-year contract with this, like the Canadiens did with Dobson. So, obviously the Canadiens are going to say no because the understanding is that Demidov is the next Kirill Kaprizov,” D’Amico said.
The 28-year-old will soon enter the final season of the five-year, $45 million extension he signed with the Wild in 2021, potentially becoming a UFA come July 1, 2026.
Demidov should be untouchable
As D’Amico referred to, there is no way the Montreal Canadiens are going to include Ivan Demidov in this trade offer, or any other trade package for that matter.
The 19-year-old is one of the most highly touted young players in the league, right up there alongside the likes of Macklin Celebrini and Connor Bedard; you don’t move on from that.
Given the Canadiens’ timeline, there is no reason to sacrifice Demidov, who has his whole career ahead of him, to bring in a player like Kaprizov in the prime of his career, even though it’s a tantalizing proposition.
Montreal has rebuilt to perfection in recent years, and they’ve started to build around them just as well. Now it’s time to let them develop together and take another step forward from their successful 2024-25 season.
