The Wild should reach out to Maxim Tsyplakov if they haven't done so already.
It was recently reported by the Athletic's Joshua Kloke that the Toronto Maple Leafs are one of 12 NHL teams interested in KHL's Maxim Tsyplakov.
The Russian power forward is on Spartak Moscow of the Russian Premier League where they rank 5th.
Tsyplakov, 25, is having a breakout season with 31 goals and 47 points in 59 games for Spartak this season. Last year Tsyplakov had ten goals and 25 points in 63 games. He has played in 321 career games in the KHL and has notched 63 goals and 121 points in seven seasons.
It might be a little concerning that he has had such a big breakout season with a career track record of production in the KHL that likely doesn't draw as many eyes from scouts.
But the 6-foot-3 forward moves well and plays a big game. He isnt going to blow you away with end-to-end speed but it seems Tsyplakov has figured out how to use his size to his advantage. He also has a heavy shot with a lot of power behind it.
He brings a lot of pucks to the net and plays a hard physical game. His shooting percentage has also skyrocketed this year to a 19.9% shooting rate. Tsyplakov is currently tied for 12th in the KHL in points with Wild prospect Danila Yurov.
Tsyplakov is third in the KHL in goals with 31. I think Andrei Kuzmenko has made some NHL teams wonder about the possibility of signing Tsyplakov after his season finishes.
Kuzmenko, 28, had 20 goals and 53 points in his final season in the KHL in 45 games before he signed a one-year contract worth a $950,000 cap hit with the Vancouver Canucks. Kuzmenko went on to score 39 goals in his first NHL season with 74 points in 81 games.
Tsyplakov's contract would be a one-year deal and if it doesn't work out in the NHL for him the Wild wouldn't be tied to a long-term deal or anything like that. He could play on the Wild's second or third line and provide some depth scoring.
He could maybe even play with Kirill Kaprizov or play on one of the two power-play units. But if his scoring doesn't translate to the NHL he would still be a valuable middle six forward who would play fine defensively along with adding a physical element to the bottom six.
The big Russian power forward is fourth in the KHL in hits and would likely translate his game to be an NHL bottom-six forward with some scoring potential. He has better hands than many bottom-six NHL forwards do but he doesn't create a ton of offense himself.
He reminds me a bit of Will Cuylle of the New York Rangers or Dakota Joshua of the Vancouver Canucks. Cuylle has eight goals and 15 points in 52 games but ranks fifth in the NHL in hits with 168. Joshua has 12 goals and 23 points in 51 games and ranks second in the NHL in hits with 185, first among NHL forwards.
I think Tsyplakov would fit perfectly as the right winger on a line with Marcus Foligno and Ryan Hartman. Or even Joel Eriksson Ek in the middle of Foligno and Tsyplakov. It wouldn't hurt to give Tsyplakov a one-year contract for the next NHL season making it worth the attempt in my opinion.
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