Trouble In Minnesota? Insider Drops Ominous Update on Kaprizov Talks

Kirill Kaprizov's extenstion talks with the Minnesota Wild are not going well to this point, per an insider

The Minnesota Wild franchise's first superstar, Kirill Kaprizov, has been eligible for an extension since July 1. He'll be entering the final season of his five-year, $45 million contract ($9M AAV), and naturally, the Wild are hoping to get a long-term extension done asap.

The buzz has been that Kaprizov could top the Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl to become the highest-paid player (depending, of course, on what Connor McDavid does with any pending extension of his own).

But an ominous update comes to us from insider Michael Russo, speaking on the DFO Rundown on Monday, as he tells us that the two sides are "not close."

Michael Russo gives an update on the Kirill Kaprizov contract negotiations

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"(GM) Bill Guerin has been publicly, extremely confident that they are going to get it done, but from what I checked on the past couple of days, they are not close...

"I think at this point, they are going to take a little bit of a breather here, and when Kaprizov gets back into town, I think Guerin will meet with him and just make sure that everything is being conveyed to him, and not being lost in translation...

"It is imperative that they get him done," says Russo, "and it's not going to be for $14 million (annually)—he will be the highest paid player in the National Hockey League."

Draisaitl's $14M AAV kicks in this October for the 2025-26 season, Kaprizov's (and/or McDavid's) wouldn't take effect until 2026-27).

But as Russo notes, the big question is—and perhaps this is the holdup?—does the Russian superstar want to re-up for eight more years in Minnesota, or would he rather sign a shorter-term deal?

The insider wonders if Kaprizov might be looking at the team's lack of playoff success (not a single series victory in 10 years), and say, "'Alright, I'm willing to make a commitment, but you know what, I'm only going to give you three or four years, and then we'll see where (we) are.'"

The 28-year-old is right in the heart of his prime, though lower-body surgery knocked him out of the lineup for 2 1/2 months this past season. He picked up right where he left off, however, in the playoffs, ripping off five goals in six games with nine points in the Wild's first-round loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.

He still managed to record 25 goals in 41 games, with 56 points, following three straight All-Star campaigns in which he topped 40 goals in each season. In 319 games over five years in the NHL, Kaprizov has 185 goals and 386 points with a +71 rating.