All signs point towards Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid breaking the NHL’s record for richest contract when he signs his next contract. The Minnesota Wild will be the only team to give Edmonton a run for their money, as they entertain signing superstar winger Kirill Kaprizov to his own contract extension. In their effort to lock up a player capable of 50-goal and 60-assist seasons, Minnesota could end up paying as much as $16MM per season, per Michael Russo of The Athletic on his ’Worst Seats In The House’ podcast. Russo and co-host Anthony LaPanta agreed that Kaprizov will likely get the contract, and bonus structure, of his choosing so long as the deal is at least five years long.
On the surface, Kaprizov’s stat line is hard to compare to the league’s top echelon. His career-high in scoring sits at 108 points – split between 47 goals and 61 assists in 81 games of the 2021-22 season. He has continued to rival more than 45 goals and 100-point scoring pace over the last three seasons, but has missed routine ice time to a string of injuries. His 2024-25 campaign was cut in half by a lower-body injury that required surgery in January. He finished the year with 25 goals and 56 points – marks that would have put him on pace for a career-high 50 goals and 112 points over a full year.
Had Kaprizov reached those scoring heights this season, he would have become just the 6th player since 2000 to record at least 50 goals and 60 assists in one season. That feat would have put him in company with elite peers, including McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Nathan MacKinnon – who have each held the title of highest-paid player at some point in their career. It’s that projection that Minnesota will lean on when negotiating with Kaprizov. There’s simply no arguing his prowess when at full health. Few NHL wingers command play on both ends of the ice quite like Kaprizov, and there’s no doubt that his presence alone is enough to swing Minnesota’s moneyline. Across his 319-game career, Kaprizov has averaged 48 goals and 99 points per 82 games played.
Even with an undeniable superstar ability, it will be tough for Minnesota to award Kaprizov a deal that takes him to age-35 or 36 after missing 63 games over the last three seasons combined – even if he has averaged 102-points per-82 games over those seasons. Minnesota will be stuck between wanting to pave way for their star to stick around, and not biting off more than they can chew. Minnesota will also need to negotiate a new deal with starting goaltender Filip Gustavsson before next summer. Gustavsson could reel in as much as $6.5MM, and has already expressed interest in signing an extension.
The culmination of multiple top contracts set to expire will make Wild general manager Bill Guerin one to watch closely over the next few months. Minnesota is in a stable spot under Guerin’s guide – with a roster that’s seemingly set to stick together for years to come. But the team hasn’t made it past the first round of the postseason since 2015. Kaprizov is a premier talent, and the Wild could face another wrinkle in negotiations should he speculate about the team’s long-term Stanley Cup odds. Young, high-upside forwards like Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi – and a season of good health for both Kaprizov and the Wild as a whole – could go far in convincing the Russian phenom to lock up a career in Minnesota.
Photo courtesy of Nick Wosika-Imagn Images.
You can get a few good players for 16 million annually, Safety in numbers.
Would you rather have 3 – 60 point players or 1 – 100+ point superstar? You don’t win cups with 3 Tomas Hertl’s. do I think he’s worth 16M? Nah. Do I think Minny needs to do what they can to keep him? YES.
You kinda do win that way though. Maybe not Hertl level players but elite talents taking below market value deals to keep the group together(See Tampa and Florida) Colorado was similarly fortunate to have their group on team friendly contracts, they won a cup, look where they are now
That’s literally not what he said. He didn’t say would you rather have 3 elite talents on team friendly contracts or 1 superstar. He said do you want 1 superstar or 3 60 point guys?
The answer would depend on how the rest of your team is built but generally you would want the superstar.
You don’t win cups with guys who can’t manage to stay on the ice and short players are less likely to age well. If Kaprizov wants this kind of money he needs to be reliable this year.
That would be a very Minnesota thing to do.
$8.7M
Small market like Minnesota will have to make a deal like that. McDavid should push 20
Handcuffing your team for the better part of a decade doesn’t help win in the playoffs
Minny has been a middling team throughout their entire existence. Kaprizov is their chance to break out of mediocrity.
It’s a clear-cut case of having no choice. Because of this, he might get a better deal from them than on the open market,
As an avs fan, I really hope that Minnesota does this. Sure its tough playing against kirill the thrill, but if they dedicate that much cap space to him they will never be a real hurdle in the division or the playoffs.
Kaprizov is definitely not worth nearly that much, exceeding $12M is probably too much, he’s a star but still not even a top 10 player in the league, i get the rising cap Marner got fair value i just dont think Kaprizov is better than Marner so why
I look forward to seeing McDavids number.
He’s great when he’s in the lineup, despite a modest supporting cast. Imagine his numbers with an elite 1C to play with. Seems to be good for an injury every year.