The saga is officially over. One of the major shoes dropped on Tuesday as the Minnesota Wild inked Kirill Kaprizov to a massive eight-year, $136 million contract.
So, pop the champagne and get ready for the season. Kaprizov and his people are. The ambiance at his agent’s office must be one of jubilation and triumph. For the Wild, the reaction must be one of relief.
The Wild got the job done by signing Kaprizov. They didn’t max out their cap allocation by inking him to a $19 million AAV, and they got him for the max-term. That should be seen as a victory. But history suggests the Wild will approach this apparent success with trepidation.
Back in 2012, the Minnesota Wild signed Zach Parise to a 13-year, $98 million contract. It was a huge contract for its time. And it’s one of the reasons why the NHL changed max-term limits on contracts.
The Wild appeared to have locked up a 27-year-old franchise player, likely, for the rest of his career. The deal, just like Kaprizov’s, came with a full no-movement clause. Parise’s deal carried a $7.53 million cap hit.
It was high, but worth the gamble. Unfortunately, the Wild never really got what they believed they paid for. The situation led to the 2021 buyout of Parise and also Ryan Suter’s contract. The move provided an initial savings of about $4.7 million, but then hamstrung the club with a dead cap hit of nearly $15 million for roughly three seasons.
That dead cap is mostly off the books, but the Wild are still on the hook for four more seasons at $833k apiece.
Now, are we saying that Kaprizov’s contract will go the way that Parise’s did? Hopefully not. The hope is that Kaprizov has a long, healthy, productive career in Minnesota. If he does, Bill Guerin will look like a genius. Add a Stanley Cup, and Guerin will go down as one of the savviest GMs in NHL history.
Health could derail Kaprizov’s career in Minnesota
There’s no question that Kirill Kaprizov is a superb talent. He’s proven it with his production on the ice. And that’s the thing. Kaprizov has had issues staying on the ice. Kaprizov played just 41 games last season due to a lower-body injury. He was phenomenal in those 41 games. But he ended up missing half of the season.
He played 75 games in 2023-24, but was limited to 67 in 2022-23. In his only full season, 2021-22, he played 81 games and racked up 108 points.
That’s what the Wild are hoping for. If he can do that, there won’t be any complaining in Minnesota. But if Kaprizov struggles to stay healthy, or if his production begins to decline, serious questions could emerge.
It’s unlikely Bill Guerin goes down the road of another mammoth buyout for a major superstar. Nevertheless, the Parise experience could empty-netter up becoming a cautionary tale for the Wild moving forward.
It’s tough to imagine one club getting bitten by the same snake twice. But then again, anything can happen in the NHL.