ST. PAUL, Minn - With training camp right around the corner and captain practices starting, the Minnesota Wild and Kirill Kaprizov's camp has started contract extension negotiations.
It was reported on Tuesday after their meeting together that Kaprizov's camp turned down an 8-year, $128 million contract extension offer.
"I don't know where this stuff comes from," Wild General Manager Bill Guerin told 10K Takes on a podcast about the Kaprizov news. "I know two things. That info didn't come from us and it didn't come from Kirill's agent. I don't know where it came from. Kirill, the organization, his agent and I have a very good relationship.
"We're not going to let things like this get in the way. I still think we are in a really positive place with Kirill. Part of my role is to protect him so we're going to let this go and, we just move on."
Despite the news from several reporters, the Wild's GM doesn't seem too worried about the situation.
Here is what could be true from it. Either Kaprizov's agent, Paul Theofanous, thinks he can get more money for Kirill on the open market, or Kaprizov does not see a future with the Wild.
He also could just play out this season and decide after if this is a place he would want to sign long-term or not.
After the season ended last year, Kaprizov was asked about a possible extension.
"We'll see. I love everything here. It should be all good."
He went on to say: "It's always, every time, it's about winning. Everyone wants to win. Me too."
It is clear Kaprizov would welcome a contract extension but he has to be sold on whether or not this team has a future of winning. He will be 29 when the contract extension starts. Committing eight years here would make him 37 when the deal is up.
Kaprizov has to be sold on whether or not he can win here. This will be an important season for Minnesota to say the least. The last thing the Wild would want to happen is for this to become Marian Gaborik 2.0.
Maybe a shorter term deal could be an option?
Of course you want to build a team around guys who want to be here. So far there has been no indication that Kaprizov does not want to be here but it is a thought all Wild fans are currently having.
“I don’t want our market to go into an all-out panic mode here,” Wild GM Bill Guerin told the 10K Takes podcast. “The most important thing is Kirill and not getting him put in a bad spot. We love him. He’s an unbelievable player. And we want him.”
But, Kaprizov has a full no move clause in his current contract. That means the Wild can't trade him without his input.
The other thing is, you don't want this drama entering the season. You know the players will hear about this, which would make for a weird situation at training camp.
I would have to expect some kind of solution will be resolved before the season starts. But we will see. As Guerin said, this might not even be a thing.
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