Connor McDavid may not be the only superstar to potentially enter the 2025-26 season as a pending unrestricted free agent.
Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov also has one year left on his five-year, $45 million contract extension signed back in 2021. Whenever asked, the 28-year-old has said he loves Minnesota, but just like with McDavid, every passing day without a new deal raises more eyebrows.
Wild insider Michael Russo is well in the know about the situation and recently shared an interesting update on the latest around Kaprizov’s contract talks on the “Worst Seats In The House” podcast.
“I believe they’ve offered him a ton of money; I think on an 8-year deal, they’re willing to pay him even in the $16m range. But, as of now, it hasn’t been done. Billy still is voicing optimism and confidence that it will get done. But the longer this goes, the bigger concern there is, because you don’t sign a contract like this, you have to question whether he really wants to be here. The Wild believe he wants to be here. But, the next month will be really telling in my opinion with Kirill,” Russo said.
In the latest WSITH @talknorthpod, @AnthonyLaPanta and I break down my Q&A with John Hynes, talk Kaprizov contract situation and much more. Next live show: Sept. 17 at Elsie’s
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Clamshell Beach Resort@GetGiglihttps://t.co/0npeOt68hT— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) August 29, 2025
The three-time all-star is coming off an injury-riddled 2024-25 campaign where he was dominant when available, racking up 56 points (25 goals, 31 assists) in just 41 games.
Could Kaprizov actually be traded?
While the general manager, Bill Guerin, and the Minnesota Wild remain confident that Kirill Kaprizov will soon sign a contract extension, what if he doesn’t?
Michael Russo was posed that very scenario during the podcast and responded with what he believes the Wild should do if things reach that point.
“I think you ask him for some teams that he’d be interested in going to, yeah, absolutely,” Russo said.
It’s not time to panic just yet, as Kaprizov hasn’t made a return to Minnesota for any face-to-face conversations with Guerin.
But, if a couple of weeks from now it’s still all quiet on an extension, then a Kirill Kaprizov trade becomes a much more realistic possibility than anyone could have expected.
