Last week's report of Kirill Kaprizov rejecting an eight-year, $128-million contract offer from the Minnesota Wild garnered plenty of headlines. It also stoked speculation over where the 28-year-old superstar left winger might end up if he and the Wild fail to hammer out an agreement. The Hockey News' Jim Parsons examined [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-teams-with-cap-space-and-potential-interest-in-kirill-kaprizov] which clubs had the salary-cap space and the potential interest to acquire Kaprizov via trade or next summer's free-agent market. Most were rebuilding or retooling teams, such as the Anaheim Ducks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks], Boston Bruins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins], Buffalo Sabres [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres], Chicago Blackhawks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks], Detroit Red Wings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/detroit-red-wings], Philadelphia Flyers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers] and the San Jose Sharks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks]. The other was the Washington Capitals [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals], which exceeded expectations last season by finishing first in the Eastern Conference. Landing with a playoff contender carrying sufficient cap room to pay him big bucks could be enticing for Kaprizov. The Capitals must find a suitable replacement for franchise star and future Hall of Famer Alex Ovechkin, and Kaprizov could be a good fit if they're willing to pony up the dollars. Meanwhile, Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic thinks the New York Rangers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers] could aggressively pursue [https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6608510/2025/09/12/new-york-rangers-live-qa-vincent-mercogliano/] Kaprizov if he becomes available in the trade market. He cited the many connections Kaprizov has with Rangers stars Artemi Panarin, Igor Shesterkin and recently acquired defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov. As for the asking price, Mercogliano believes it could cost the Rangers a couple of first-round picks and a young player like Alexis Lafreniere. Moving the young winger's $7.45 million average annual value would free up cap room to sign Kaprizov and perhaps leave enough to retain Panarin if he agrees to a pay cut. Clearing Lafreniere's cap hit would increase the Rangers' projected cap space [https://puckpedia.com/team/new-york-rangers] to over $37 million for 2026-27, leaving plenty of room for Kaprizov and perhaps Panarin. However, Larry Brooks of the New York Post doesn't see the Rangers trading away [https://x.com/NYP_Brooksie/status/1967062007947129079] draft picks and players for Kaprizov, only to sign him to between $16 million and $18 million. Pavel Zacha (Stan Szeto-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/b35659e2-64b2-43d1-b917-b99daac1cc2f.jpeg] Pavel Zacha (Stan Szeto-Imagn Images) Turning to the Boston Bruins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins], trade rumors have dogged Pavel Zacha throughout this summer. The versatile 28-year-old forward is in the third season of a four-year contract with an affordable average annual value of $4.75 million. He also carries an eight-team no-trade list. Zacha's agent recently dismissed [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-rumor-roundup-the-latest-boston-bruins-trade-buzz] the trade chatter swirling around his client as “just rumors.” However, RG.Org's James Murphy cited sources [https://rg.org/news/hockey/source-canadiens-interested-in-bruins-center-pavel-zacha] claiming the Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] and Calgary Flames [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/calgary-flames] are among the clubs making inquiries into Zacha's availability. Murphy indicated no deal was imminent, but trade scenarios had been discussed. His source said the Canadiens could be willing to part with forwards Joshua Roy and Oliver Kapanen and defenseman Jayden Struble in their quest for a second-line center. He also stated that the trade chatter wasn't coming from the Bruins, but from teams interested in Zacha. The Bruins hope to rebound from last season's disastrous performance and return to playoff contention. They're not sellers right now, but that could change if they stumble from the gate and fail to gain ground in the standings. For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
