Kirill Kaprizov can become an unrestricted free agent July 1, 2026, but the Minnesota Wild are confident he’ll have a new contract before then.
The superstar Wild winger is eligible to sign a new deal with the Wild on July 1, and general manager Bill Guerin feels strongly he will do so between now and the start of training camp.
“My expectations are to get him signed. That’s it,” Guerin told NHL.com. “I’d like to get it done as soon as I can. Obviously, everybody knows how important Kirill is to the team and to the organization and to the market. He’s a star player. So, yeah, that’s priority No. 1.”
Kaprizov can sign an eight-year contract with the Wild but would only be eligible to ink a seven-year deal with a competing club if he got to the open market. Kaprizov is set to enter the final year of a five-year, $45 million deal he signed in September 2021.
Kirill the Thrill
Kaprizov has been unquestionably the most talented player in Wild history since he jumped to the club from Russia ahead of the 2020-21 NHL season.
He is an annual Hart Trophy favorite and has become a devastating goal scorer, especially over the past four seasons. Kaprizov has topped 40 goals in three of the past four seasons and still scored 25 despite missing half the season due to injury this year.
Kaprizov has the ninth-most goals (315) but is tied for third in the NHL in goals per game (0.58) with Boston’s David Pastrnak among players with at least 300 games played since 2020-21.
Plus, Kaprizov has been putting up his massive numbers on a club that lacks star power. He had led the Wild in both goals and points in every season of his career until this one, and he still finished third on the team in both categories despite playing just 41 games.
All that is why Guerin is looking forward to keeping the Russian star in a Wild uniform for his whole career.
“Nobody can offer him more than we can,” Guerin said. “I’ll just say that I’m very confident we’re going to get a deal done with Kirill. I think he really loves this market and this team. I think he feels that we’re going in the right direction. He’s got a good relationship with [Minnesota coach] John [Hynes]. He’s got a good relationship with me, and it’s just a matter of working through it.”
More Work To Do
Locking in Kaprizov may be the top assignment for Guerin and the Wild, but he definitely can’t stop there.
The only thing more consistent than Kaprizov leading the Wild in points is their inability to get past the first round. Minnesota lost in six games to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference first round — its seventh first-round exit in the past 10 years.
The Wild have not won a playoff series since 2015 and have not advanced to the Western Conference Final since their lone third-round appearance — a sweep to the Ducks in 2003.
Yet, Guerin will have about $20 million cap space with which to work, a consequence of the rising NHL salary cap and relief from the tandem buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter.
Guerin is hoping to put that, and the experience gained from reaching the playoffs after missing in 2023-24, to good use so the Wild can take the next step.
“I like high expectations. I want high expectations,” Guerin said. “I’m not doing this job to kind of sit in the corner or anything. … There’s a lot of people out there that love the Minnesota Wild and I’m trying to deliver something to them. We all are. We’re trying to deliver that to them and it’s a lot but I love it.”
Wild Send Strong Message on Kirill Kaprizov’s Future