The Minnesota Wild have signed star winger Kirill Kaprizov to a record setting 8 year, $136M contract extension the club announced Tuesday.
The deal is both the most lucrative in terms of average annual value ($17M per season), and total money. With the extension in place, Kaprizov will now be tied to the Wild through the 2033-34 NHL campaign.
The left winger’s new pact will come into effect next season, as Kaprizov plays out the final year of his 5 year, $45M contract signed back in 2021. While the signing bonus money has yet to be announced publicly, reports indicate that the deal will feature substantial payouts in the first four years of the deal, making the extension front loaded in terms of actual dollars.
With an extension now in place, the 28 year old can put to rest rampant rumours that he was trying to force his way out of town by turning down a massive offer from the team several weeks prior.
“You guys know I like Minny and everyone knows this,” Kaprizov said after the Wild’s first on-ice session of training camp. “We have a lot of time [to sign]. It’s just 2025 and it’s one more year I have. I just want to play hockey and focus and win some games and go into [the Stanley Cup] Playoffs] and win there. Just focus on this now.”
Earlier this month, Kaprizov’s camp turned down a $16M per season AAV offer from the Wild, though the team’s management didn’t waver in their pursuit of the former 5th round pick. With a Calder Trophy, and single season franchise records for points (108), goals (47), and power play goals (19) already under his belt, Kaprizov is already arguably the most decorated player in Wild franchise history. This despite the fact that he’s only played 319 career games for the club.
The Russian forward was off to a blistering start last year with 25 goals, and 31 assists through 41 games before injuries cut his season short. Over the course of his NHL career, his 386 points (185G, 201A) make him a better than a point per game player, registering 1.21 points per contest to date.
Part of the reason that both sides eventually came together is that Kaprizov’s 8 year deal will be one of the last in the NHL with the new CBA set to come into effect. Under the terms of the new collective bargaining agreement, players will be limited to 7 year deals with their own teams, and free agents will have their contracts capped at 6 years.
Team owner Craig Leipold pointed to this as one of the reasons he was confident that a deal would ultimately get done between both sides over the last several months.
With the contract now out of the way, the Wild can turn their attention to finishing off the preseason strong, and kicking off their pursuit of a Stanley Cup in earnest on October 9th vs. the St. Louis Blues.
Photo: Jenn G. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.