The Minnesota Wild have big expectations this year and a lot of them are on the shoulders of Kirill Kaprizov. A year ago, Kaprizov was tied for fourth in the NHL with 45 goals and finished 14th with 89 points. But despite the big numbers, fans didn’t feel like they were seeing the dominant version of a player who signed, what was at the time, the largest contract in league history last September.
Any fan who came to that conclusion was joined by Wild GM Bill Guerin. According to The Athletic’s Michael Russo, Guerin met with Kaprizov after last season ended and “told him he wanted more dominance on a night-to-night basis.” While it seems like a crazy statement given Kaprizov’s overall numbers, Russo noted that Kaprizov agreed with the assessment and he has gone to work this offseason, training in his hometown of Novokuznetsk and showing up to training camp in tremendous shape.
It’s a redemption arc that Wild fans have seen before and it’s possible that Guerin’s conversation can bring the consistency out of Kaprizov in the same way he did with Matt Boldy a few years ago.
Bill Guerin may have found the secret to unlocking another Wild star
Boldy has always shown promise and in his first two seasons, his arrow was pointing up. After debuting during the 2021-22 season, Boldy netted 46 goals and recorded 102 points in his first 128 games in the NHL, but his lack of consistency was a major flaw.
The end of the 2023 season showed what Boldy was capable of. As a 21-year-old, Boldy erupted for 15 goals and 23 points in the WIld’s final 19 games and looked to be a key part of a team looking for a playoff run. When the playoffs began, Boldy was on a milk carton, recording just three points in a six-game loss to the Dallas Stars.
“Not good enough,” Boldy said via the Pioneer Press’s Dane Mizutani. “I don’t think I played well. That’s my opinion. It just wasn’t what it needed to be, and obviously it sucks. ..It’s another thing to learn from. I don’t want to let it happen again.”
Boldy wasn’t the only one with that opinion. Guerin had watched Boldy record just one point in a six-game playoff series loss to the St. Louis Blues the previous year and delivered a blunt message both publicly and privately to his young star.
“He’s got to change certain things in his game,” Guerin said. “It’s a different game in the playoffs. It’s just different. I think a lot of people get frustrated with that in hockey. I think it’s something that makes hockey great. That is a whole different ballgame [in the playoffs]. …You look at the goals that are scored. There’s not a lot of pretty goals.”
While Boldy had 29 goals and 69 points the following year, the highs and lows continued as the Wild missed the playoffs. But since then, Boldy has been the Wild’s most consistent star, scoring 27 times with 73 points during the 2024-25 season and setting career highs with 42 goals and 85 points last season.
But it wasn’t just the numbers that were impressive. Boldy recorded a point in 49 of the Wild’s 82 games and scored a goal in 34 of them. That consistency showed up in the first round of the playoffs when Boldy recorded a point in five games and scored a goal in four games in the Wild’s six-game series against the Stars.
While Boldy’s numbers were down to a goal and four points in the second-round series against the Colorado Avalanche, he’s turned into one of the Wild’s most consistent players (and a potential dark horse candidate for the Hart Trophy) since Guerin’s talk at the end of the 2022-23 season and it could be something that could help Kaprizov find himself this year.
Bill Guerin’s actions and words could unleash Kirill Kaprizov this season
Kaprizov is in a different stage than Boldy was when he had his talk with Guerin. The Wild’s franchise leader with 245 goals scored, Kaprizov is Minnesota’s most electric player and one that has plenty of notoriety across the NHL. But last season left Wild fans wanting more.
The peak version of Kaprizov appeared during the opening months of the 2024-25 season. Kaprizov scored 23 goals and had 50 points in the Wild’s first 34 games and established himself as the frontrunner for the Hart Trophy A lower body injury played a key role in sabotaging that bid but Kaprizov hasn’t shown the same aggressiveness since.
The Wild are trying different things to get Kaprizov going including parting ways with longtime linemate and mentor Mats Zuccarello. According to Russo, the hope is that by switching over to Maxim Shabanov, the Wild can get out of the “East-West” game that Kaprizov had played with Zuccarello and be more aggressive to find opportunities to score goals or set up teammates for success.
In addition, the Wild have their most dynamic lineup in years with Kaprizov playing with Boldy, Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber. In previous seasons, it felt like Kaprizov had to drive the offense on his own but a stable of stars around him could be a benefit, especially if gambles like Shabanov and Bobby Brink pan out in Minnesota’s favor.
Making $17 million per season as his contract kicks in, the Wild need to get the dominant version of Kaprizov to make their Stanley Cup dreams come true. And like Guerin did with Boldy, the hope is that his conversations can draw out the best out of Kaprizov as the Wild enters their golden age.
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