NHL Rumors: It Was a Quiet Offseason, and the Minnesota Wild, Kirill Kaprizov Not Far Off

Don’t hold your breath on an active September after a quiet summer

Sekeres and Price: David Pagnotta on how it was such a quiet offseason.

Blake Price: “The quietest summer I can possibly remember, David. Not only from a Canucks perspective, but league wide.

Pagnotta: “Yeah, it was. It was, because of the not even lack of activity, there was no activity at all. I mean, everybody talked a pretty big game after July one, after the draft, and after July one, that we’re going to get some work done over the summer and we’re going to get things going, and made us all excited, and nothing. Not even, not even a hint that something significant, something massive, was close or had been close over the course of the summer.

So, hopefully that translates into a very active September before the season gets going. But based on the last, what six weeks, I don’t know, I don’t know if I’d hold my breath.

Minnesota Wild owner said they’re not far off Kirill Kaprizov extension and it’ll likely be the biggest NHL deal ever

Joe Smith of The Athletic: Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold on a Kirill Kaprizov contract extension with the Wild.

“I just feel like we’re not that far off,” Leipold said. “I kind of think we’re there. I like to believe when Kirill comes over and gets a sense again for the excitement and the love of the city, I think we’ll be moving forward in a good direction.”

The 28-year-old Kaprizov will meet with Leipold and GM Bill Guerin shortly after he arrives. No team will be able offer as much money as the Wild can, and it could be an eight-year deal in the $15 to $16 million range. It will likely be the largest deal even in the NHL.

“This will be a huge deal — likely the biggest in the NHL ever,” Leipold said. “There’s no better human being or better hockey player or better person than Kirill. I think it will be a good conversation that we’ll have with him. I’m very anxious and looking forward to that conversation. I think we’ll move quickly after that.”