Bill Guerin has plenty on his plate after taking over as general manager of the Minnesota Wild just a few weeks from training camp, but Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that one of the first things he did was call the agent for prospect Kirill Kaprizov to set up a meeting in Russia. Kaprizov was drafted by the Wild back in 2015 but has had an extremely complicated relationship with the organization since and has continued to play in the KHL. Former Wild GM Paul Fenton set up a similar visit in 2018 when he took over from Chuck Fletcher.
Kaprizov, 22, is considered one of the best offensive players currently outside of the NHL. The undersized forward scored 30 goals and 51 points last season for CSKA Moscow, his third consecutive season with at least 40 points. While there’s no guarantee that he would find success in North America, he has long been one of the most intriguing prospects in the game and one that Guerin and the Wild would love to get their hands on.
After all the meetings, negotiations and confusion, perhaps there is a resolution in sight between Kaprizov and the Wild. His contract with CSKA expires in April of 2020 and he has expressed an interest in coming over—though it hasn’t been an enthusiastic guarantee to be sure. Guerin will now be the third Wild GM to try and convince Kaprizov that he belongs in the NHL. The Wild will retain his exclusive draft rights indefinitely.
Why do the wild have his draft rights indefinitely, but some player draft rights are lost after 2 or 4 years
Rights for players selected out of leagues without a transfer agreement (KHL, NLA, etc) are owned indefinitely. CHL, NCAA and European leagues with transfer agreements have various rules/lengths.
Thank you