NHL Rumours and the Latest on the Minnesota Wild Superstar

Today in our edition of NHL Rumours, we return to the land of 10,000 lakes, one of the hockey hotbeds, and the home of the Minnesota Wild. And even though we had recently brought you rumours on the situation, we have a new development. Their Russian superstar has made big news in his contract negotiations. So let’s unpack the details, and see where this leaves us.

https://www.twitter.com/frank_seravalli/status/1965812721955570082?t=bvZhSWhCl5p8euOJpYExUQ&s=19

NHL Rumours and a Major Development in Kirill Karpizov’s Contract Extension Talks

Rumour: For today’s rumour, Frank Seravalli is reporting that he heard that Kaprizov turned down an offer.

Analysis: It is unsurprising that fans would naturally want to panic after hearing such news. However, we are here to tell you, him turning it down is probably as expected.

Okay, let us explain, that as Seravalli said, Kaprizov turned down the Wild offer. It was for eight years, and $128 million. The noteworthy aspects of this is it would’ve set a couple of milestones. The $128 million would’ve been the richest contract in NHL history. In addition, the $16 million average annual value would have likewise been the most ever. Moreover, this was only days after Elliotte Friedman had suggested that the deal could be finalized soon.

Now, Wild fans would naturally be concerned of such news. Their superstar player is given a major contract offer, and turns it down. This would’ve meant he was 37 years old at the conclusion of the deal. So, does he not want to play in Minnesota? Is he looking for greener pastures elsewhere? Well, anything is possible. However, for the foreseeable future, there’s no indication that Kaprizov wants to play anywhere but Minnesota. Okay, so where does this leave us?

The real reason is likely more connected to the NHL’s financial outlook. The positive financial outlook we will add. According to reports, the NHL’s salary cap is expected to continue to rise. It is currently $95.5 million and supposed to increase to $104 million for next season. Furthermore, it will go up by a similar amount to $113 million for the 2027-28 NHL season. It is interesting how this will impact the potential maximum player salary. Since players can make 20% of the cap in one year, the increase of maximum salary will go from just over $19 million to $22.6 million. Now, Kaprizov’s offer isn’t near the $19 million even. Moreover, that is likely not where his camp would even want to be necessarily. But the idea of how much you could allocate to one player, and the fact it will increase, is the key takeaway.

Why Does This Negotiation Tactic Make Sense?

In the end, we do think he signs in Minnie. He’s probably interested in something like Auston Matthews had signed. In 2023, he signed a four-year deal worth $53 million. We are thinking Kaprizov signs somewhere in the two-to-four year term. This allows him to take a little less, in terms of proportion of his club’s available cap space. Then, as the cap increases he can possibly take advantage of that, while not putting himself over the club as a whole. Also, it will allow him to see how competitive the Wild are over the next couple years. That’s not something fans want to think about, but Kaprizov is deserving to be a part of a winner, should the opportunity so present itself at that time. And so the rumour mill continues to churn.