Central Notes: Cooley, Kaprizov, Mayich

Utah will be eligible to sign center Logan Cooley to a contract extension as of July 1st as he’ll be entering the final year of his entry-level contract at that time.  Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune posits that the five-year, $42MM contract extension Dallas gave to Wyatt Johnston could be a comparable used in negotiations while the team might point to the eight-year, $57.14MM deal they gave Dylan Guenther as a starting point.  After recording 44 points in his rookie year, Cooley put up 25 goals and 40 assists in 75 games this season in a little under 18 minutes a night of playing time.  It’s likely both sides feel he has another level offensively to get to as well which would be factored into any new deal.  Between his draft status (third overall in 2022), the fact that he plays a premium position, and the big jumps coming to the salary cap, it wouldn’t be shocking to see an extension for Cooley push past the $9MM mark this summer.

Elsewhere in the Central:

• The Wild will be eligible to sign star winger Kirill Kaprizov to an extension as of July 1st and owner Craig Leipold has previously said they’ll pay whatever is necessary to keep him. But as John Shipley of the Pioneer Press notes, that alone might not be enough.  Kaprizov is in line for what will be a record-setting contract handed out to a winger and he can get that from Minnesota and likely several other teams if he was to get to unrestricted free agency.  Given that the Wild have yet to have much playoff success – they’ve lost in eight straight first rounds in ten years, the first team of the four major North American sports leagues to have that happen to them – it’s possible that Kaprizov might want to see what other opportunities await him and if there’s a better chance to play for a contending squad.  On the other hand, the Wild have much more cap flexibility to play with this summer and will surely be looking to try to make their roster look more like a contender.
• Blues prospect Matthew Mayich will play at Clarkson University next season, the school announced (Twitter link). The 20-year-old was a sixth-round pick back in 2023, going 170th overall.  Mayich spent his four-year OHL career with Ottawa and saved his best performance for last, tallying 42 points in 66 games this season.  Louis originally was supposed to have his rights only through June 1st but with the change to allow CHL players to have NCAA eligibility, it remains unclear if that will affect signing timelines for players in that situation.