Contract negotiations of all sorts are filled with outrageous posturing for leverage, as each side tries to wring every last cent and term from the other.
For the love of the Wild, just get Kirill Kaprizov signed already
The latest report about an eight-figure offer for the emerging Wild star to play a season in Russia is causing tension. There's only one way to solve this: Everyone meet in the middle and get a deal done.
August 10, 2021 at 4:34PM
The Wild's negotiation with budding superstar and Calder Trophy winner Kirill Kaprizov is no different, at least from a baseline standpoint. But the guideposts for the leverage GM Bill Guerin and Kaprizov's representation bring to the table are fairly unique.
The Wild's leverage: Kaprizov is done with his entry-level deal, but he's not a free agent (restricted or unrestricted). He can only negotiate with the Wild, at least among NHL teams.
Kaprizov's leverage: He's the best single entity to grace the Wild in its two-decade history, and oh by the way he could just go play in Russia (wink, wink ... um, probably) if he doesn't like the Wild's offer.
That's where we stand as of mid-day Tuesday, though a report from Daily Faceoff on Monday saying Kaprizov has a tentative one-year deal for eight figures to play in Russia next season — if the Wild can't work out a deal in the next few weeks — turned up the dial on the tension at least.
I talked about that on Tuesday's Daily Delivery podcast, and Patrick Reusse joined me later to offer his two cents as well.
If you don't see the podcast player, tap here to listen.
It still seems very likely that this all plays out in a way that the Wild, Kaprizov and fans can enjoy. It sounds like the Wild wants to sign Kaprizov to a much longer deal than he wants to sign — that he would like his next swing at actual free agency to come in his late 20s, not early 30s.
The easy answer is a five-year deal for about $9 million per season, maybe a little more. Kaprizov would be 29 when the deal expires. The Wild would get a core player signed and can start building out its future — albeit one complicated by dead cap hits for Ryan Suter and Zach Parise over the life of much of any shorter deal.
But it's clearly time for the posturing to end. When both sides have leverage, the only real place to meet is in the middle.
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