ST. PAUL, Minn - In his annual media interview in the suite, Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold opened up by saying he was not going to talk on the Kirill Kaprizov contract situation. What he was referring to was the contract offer that included $128 million that Kaprizov reportedly turned down. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild/latest-news/report-minnesota-wild-s-kirill-kaprizov-turns-down-contract-extension] "I said I wasn’t going to talk about Kirill. I really am serious," Leipold said with Wild general manager Bill Guerin hovering over his left shoulder in his suite after the first period. "There’s nothing to gain. Everything to lose." Well, fans are not going to be too happy that you aren't going to talk about the reportedly turned down contract offer. "OK. Well, then they’ll be disappointed, but you guys will report it very nicely and I won’t be damaged too bad," Leipold said. The fact is, there are other superstars in the NHL who are in the final year of their contracts and could sign extensions but have not. Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Jason Robertson, Kyle Connor, Cale Makar, and Artemi Panarin to name a few. Kaprizov isn't the only one. "There clearly is now more money in the system. Cap’s going up. Team’s have more ability than they have in the past. There’s less movement going on right now," Leipold said. "I’d say it’s fair to say with the cap going up $7 million and then $8 million and then $9 million, that’s a lot of new money in the system that frankly a year or two ago we certainly had no idea was going to be available. So it does change things and we have to change with it." In a recent report Elliotte Friedman [https://x.com/FriedgeHNIC] suggested there might be some tampering going on between Kaprizov's agent and other teams. Suggesting that Paul Theofanous is seeing what other teams would be willing to pay before agreeing to anything with the Wild. Is that a concern to Leipold? "No. Am I concerned? Sure. But I’ve heard nothing," Leipold said. "I don’t feel like there’s any tampering going on. I think we’ll find out if there ever is. But we haven’t heard anything." Kaprizov is a superstar there is no doubt about that. He is the best player the Wild have ever had in their 25 year history as a team. The second closest was Marian Gaborik. Who left the Wild for nothing. He did not sign an extension and went to free agency where he signed with the New York Rangers. [https://thehockeynews.com/news/star-forward-marian-gaborik-signs-with-rangers-leaving-wild] "The Gaborik situation was a disappointing situation," Leipold said. "This is entirely different." So because Leipold didn't want to get into anything Kaprizov contract rejected related topics, was it because he felt like he had said too much recently? "No, I really don’t. I think perhaps things have been misunderstood. And I don’t want anything to be misunderstood. I don’t want your headline guys at night to decide to put a headline on top that would not represent what I said." Exactly a year ago in the same style of meeting, Leipold pledged that no team would give more money and term to Kaprizov than the Wild. "So what does he want? He wants to win," Leipold said on Oct 1, 2024. "So we have to prove to not only him, but to other UFA’s that we also want to win. And we're used to winning. And this is the State of Hockey, and we're going to get back to the winning ways. We're going to get a perennial playoff team, but it does start with Kirill. He’s going to be the focus of what we're going to do. We plan to re-sign him. I will tell you nobody will offer more money than us, or longer. So all we have to do is prove to him that we want to win." So, the fact that Kaprizov turned down $128 million over an eight-year deal is alarming. Is it for money reasons or for lack of desire to stay in Minnesota? During day one of training camp, just a week ago, Kaprizov said he loves "Minny [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild/latest-news/you-guys-know-i-like-minny-kirill-kaprizov-gives-his-stance-on-contract-situation]." But he also has one more year left on his contract and just wants to play hockey. Nonetheless, this is a big season for the Wild. Their future could ride on this season. Is it enough to convince Kaprizov to stay or will it be Gaborik all over again? "I have a lot of patience. Billy’s the guy," Leipold said on his confidence in Guerin on this. "He’s the one that does the negotiating no matter who it is. That’s his responsibility and his role. We got a great relationship, so I’m very happy with our relationship."
