The news breaking Tuesday that Kirill Kaprizov turned down an NHL-record eight-year, $128 million contract offer from the Minnesota Wild sent a shock through the hockey world — and especially fans in Minnesota.
The most important question: What does it mean?
Kaprizov, who will be 29 when the new contract would kick in next July 1, would have had a $16 million average annual value under the deal, according to NHL insider Frank Seravalli, $2 million more than Leon Draisaitl, who has the NHL’s highest AAV for this coming season. And this is coming off a season in which Kaprizov missed 41 games with a lower-body injury that required surgery.
This wasn’t some lowball offer, as we knew it wouldn’t be when owner Craig Leipold suggested last week that this could and would be the biggest deal in NHL history, both in AAV and total dollars.
Heck, Draisaitl got a $5.5 million bump from $8.5 million to $14 million last fall on an extension, and he’s a four-time 50-goal scorer, six-time 100-point scorer, Hart Trophy winner and proven playoff performer. The Wild were willing to give Kaprizov a $7 million bump, and he hasn’t accepted it?
Again, what does it mean?
The pressure is on for the Wild to find out.
They need to determine if this is agent Paul Theofanous playing hardball because he thinks more than $16 million is waiting in free agency for Kaprizov next summer, or if this is the beginning of the end of Kaprizov in Minnesota. Either way, the decision will be pivotal in determining the path of this franchise for the next decade. Even if the Wild increase their offer and manage to get the deal done, at this price, it will have a ripple effect on their future cap situation as they try to build a perennial contender.
Still, in the Wild’s eyes, this isn’t done. They love Kaprizov and will keep trying to hammer out a deal.
“We are still having ongoing talks,” Wild president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin told The Athletic on Wednesday. “We love Kirill. We want to keep him here. I have a good relationship with his agent, and we are still in talks. We’re not panicking or anything. This is just part of negotiations.
“My job as general manager is to protect my players, and I don’t want this stuff in the public eye. That’s the way we’d like to keep it, so I’m not commenting any further on it. But I will say this: We absolutely want to keep Kirill in Minnesota.”
Theofanous didn’t respond for comment.
Leipold told The Athletic last fall that the organization was in Year 2 of a five-year plan. But there’s no plan that doesn’t involve Kaprizov as the team’s centerpiece. The three-time 40-goal scorer is virtually irreplaceable.
Leipold acknowledged as much last week, which is why he planned to be a part of the meeting with Kaprizov and Theofanous on Tuesday.
But what if this is an indication that no kind of money will make him commit to the Twin Cities on a long-term basis?
Guerin continues to voice optimism that they’ll come to an agreement, but if he can’t, there may come a point when he’ll have to find out from Kaprizov, who has a full no-move clause, which teams he’s open to getting dealt to. Because the Wild can’t afford for this to become Marian Gaborik 2.0.
In 2008, Gaborik, arguably the second-best player in team history, got hurt playing soccer hacky sack in South Florida early in the season after rejecting a 10-year extension that offseason. Gaborik underwent surgery in December and ultimately left for nothing as a free agent, setting the club back years.
You can bet Leipold remembers that well. It was his first full season as owner.
So, what happens now?
Maybe the sides take a breath and let this all play out. That might be what Kaprizov’s camp wants. The best player in the world — Connor McDavid — seems in no rush to commit to the two-time-defending Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers as he enters his final year before free agency.
But make no mistake: There’s no way either side is happy this got out in the public eye. It’s embarrassing for the Wild that people know Kaprizov hasn’t accepted such a monster deal. And it sure doesn’t make Kaprizov look great. He was on the ice during the team’s captain’s practice when Seravalli reported the offer, so that had to be one awkward dressing room once teammates and staff checked their phones.
Heck, maybe Kaprizov changes his mind and instructs Theofanous to get a deal done. After all, Kaprizov, who has yet to comment, is the boss.
One big issue with letting this play out? This “will he stay, will he go?” storyline will be a question that lingers into the season, and that’s not the kind of distraction a bubble team needs to break through from a decade-long streak of not winning a playoff series.
More than just this team’s fate is on the line. Guerin, entering the seventh year of his tenure, has preached patience as the Wild went through the pain of the Zach Parise-Ryan Suter buyouts. Eventually, Guerin said, the team would be able to be aggressive and put a serious contender on the ice.
Yet this summer came and went without the fireworks expected, mostly because top targets chose to re-sign. Sure, the Wild would be swimming in cap space if they’re unable to re-sign Kaprizov, but what top player would agree to a trade to Minnesota or sign as a free agent if Kaprizov isn’t part of the equation?
The reality is we don’t know how this will end.
In the Wild’s eyes, this is still a negotiation. They’re not just going to surrender the best player in franchise history.
They could bump their offer and find a long-term agreement.
The Wild weren’t given any indication during Tuesday’s meeting that Kaprizov wants a shorter-term deal, per league sources, but maybe that could change. If so, it could benefit both sides.
From the Wild’s perspective, given Kaprizov’s age and injury history, they could ensure these injuries don’t reappear and he continues producing. From Kaprizov’s perspective, it puts pressure on the Wild to aggressively build a contender because he’s starting the clock on them.
Kaprizov has told us he loves the area. He has also told us that winning is the most important thing to him, though, and it’s fair to wonder if the Wild have shown him he can do that here. Players only get one career.
Kirill Kaprizov, right, has said he loves playing in Minnesota. (David Berding / Getty Images)
In hindsight, while Guerin voiced public optimism that Kaprizov’s contract wouldn’t be an issue, it was an obvious red flag that Kaprizov didn’t just sign on the dotted line when eligible July 1. The longer the sides waited, the more of a chance Kaprizov had to consider what else might be out there in free agency next summer — which teams could throw boatloads of money at him, whether it’s the New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning, Chicago Blackhawks, etc. Theofanous might have a sense that Kaprizov could get significantly more than $16 million annually on a seven-year deal elsewhere.
But the Wild continue to be motivated to get this done — to get No. 97 locked up the way they did on the eve of camp four years ago after another long contract dispute with Theofanous.
The pressure is on.
As much as Guerin has talked about the Wild’s new cap flexibility giving them the rare chance to go after the “big fish” on the trade market this year, it won’t make much difference if they can’t reel in their own prize catch, the fifth-rounder who turned into the team’s first true superstar.
(Top photo: Bailey Hillesheim / Getty Images)
Source link
