When Kirill Kaprizov signed his new contract last September, it was cause for the Minnesota Wild to celebrate. The $136 million deal was a steep price to pay, but it seemed worth it as those benefits will be reaped by the Wild over the next eight years. As the deal begins next season, Kaprizov stands to be a huge part in Minnesota’s chase for the Stanley Cup, but it may be throwing a wrench into their offseason plans.
The Athletic’s Michael Russo hinted at Kaprizov’s contract becoming a scapegoat as they dive into the offseason. With Vladimir Tarasenko and Mats Zuccarello entering free agency and Marcus Johansson already departing for his home country of Sweden, the Wild have some serious heavy lifting to do in the coming months, putting Kaprizov and his $17 million annual average value into the spotlight, especially as they try to re-sign Zuccarello.
“The irony, of course, is that one reason the Wild can’t simply sign Zuccarello is that his longtime tag-team partner…signed by far the most lucrative contract in NHL history back in October,” Russo wrote. “Kaprizov said after the season he hoped Zuccarello would return. But with only $12 million of cap space left and only nine forwards, five defensemen and two goalies signed, the Wild feel they can’t currently commit to Zuccarello until seeing if they can acquire somebody like Dylan Larkin.”
Wild may have to make big changes around Kirill Kaprizov’s massive contract
As Russo put it, the Wild have a lot of “balls in the air” when it comes to their offseason plans and a lot of it is because of Kaprizov’s contract. Any Wild fan would tell you Kaprizov is worth every penny as a four-time 40-goal scorer and a player that recorded 89 points last season. They would also point to what Kaprizov can do at his best, scoring 47 times and recording 108 points during the 2021-22 season and being in the mix for the Hart Trophy with 25 goals and 56 points in 41 games before suffering a lower-body injury.
But the $17 million question is if the Wild could have settled for less. Jack Eichel of the Vegas Golden Knights ($13.5 million) and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers ($12.5 million) could have flirted with Kaprizov’s AAV as they sought new contracts last season. But both players took less money to maximize a better team around them.
With the salary cap continuing to rise, Kaprizov’s contract will likely fall in line with the rest of the NHL’s salaries when it reaches its conclusion during the 2033-34 season. The landscape of the Wild has also changed, adding in Quinn Hughes in a blockbuster trade that could lead to another big-money extension this summer.
But as the Wild have indicated, their focus is on winning the Cup right now and adding the pieces to get there.
Russo’s estimate of $12 million in cap space is correct but Puckpedia has it at $9.4 million when factoring contracts for restricted free agents including Bobby Brink and Daemon Hunt. The pursuit of Larkin would eat a large chunk of that at $8.7 million but even if the Wild pivot to Vincent Trocheck ($5.6 million AAV), they still are handcuffed in what they can do to fill out the top-six.
This makes a rumored trade for Philadelphia Flyers forward Owen Tippett less of a reality and it could require the Wild saying goodbye to some of their long-standing veterans including Ryan Hartman ($4 million AAV), Jonas Brodin ($6 million AAV) or even captain Jared Spurgeon ($7.5 million AAV). Russo also listed Yakov Trenin ($3.5 million AAV), Jake Middleton ($4.35 million AAV) and Nico Sturm ($2 million) as players that could be moved in the coming weeks.
In some of these cases, they’re necessary moves for a team that showed their weaknesses. But in the case of Zuccarello, it’s a player that still can produce entering his age-39 season and seems to get the best out of Kaprizov.
This was probably something general manager Bill Guerin accounted for when he signed Kaprizov to his massive deal. A player like Kaprizov is also needed to be a legitimate cup contender, so it’s probably money well spent. But it may leave the Wild doing more of an overhaul than a simple retooling and puts more pressure on Kaprizov to hit another gear as his contract begins.
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