Sports

RandBall: Kirill Kaprizov reportedly turns down richest deal in NHL history from Wild

A report Wednesday said the Wild offered an eight-year, $128 million extension to Kirill Kaprizov that was rejected. Is this just part of negotiations, or are the two sides headed for a crossroads? Michael Rand looks at that in today’s 10 things to know.

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By Michael Rand

The Minnesota Star Tribune
September 11, 2025 at 4:20PM
Kirill Kaprizov (Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The best player in Wild history reportedly turned down the richest contract in NHL history this week.

That seems ... bad.

NHL insider Frank Seravalli’s reporting said the Wild’s offer was eight years, $128 million — which would make it the largest deal in terms of both total money and average annual value.

Kaprizov has one year left on his five-year, $45 million deal. He could have signed an extension in July, but here it is mid-September and nothing is done.

And now this.

How should we view this report, particularly framed within Kaprizov’s comments in May and Wild President of Hockey Operations Bill Guerin’s comments on Wednesday?

I talked about that extensively on Thursday’s Daily Delivery podcast.

Here are some of those thoughts at the start of today’s 10 things to know:

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  • Guerin had some interesting comments Wednesday when asked about the report during an appearance on the 10,000 Takes podcast. “I know two things. That info didn’t come from us, and it didn’t come from Kirill’s agent,” Guerin said. “I don’t know where it came from. Kirill’s agent and I have a very good relationship. We’re working through things. We’re not going to let things like this get in the way.” He added that he thinks the Wild are in a “really positive place” with Kaprizov and said he didn’t want fans going “into an all-out panic mode.”
    • Guerin had better hope this is just either inaccurate information (which he would know) or just part of negotiations (which he might not know). Because the fact is Kaprizov could have signed more than two months ago. The longer this plays out, the worse it looks. Some fans are already in panic mode.
      • Kaprizov’s looming contract talks were part of his exit interview with the media after the Wild (again) were bounced in the first round of the NHL playoffs. “All this is my agent’s job to talk to Billy. We will see. I love everything here. It should be all good.” That was seen as reassuring in early May, but it feels non-committal in retrospect and carries far less weight more than four months later.
        • If Kaprizov’s camp is holding out for more money, that could be a problem for the Wild. Sure, they could up the ante to $17 million or $18 million a year on a long-term deal. But they just got out of long-term cap purgatory from the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts. How far can they go to please Kaprizov while still building a competitive team around him?
          • If the length is the issue, that would be more palatable. Say the Wild ended up signing Kaprizov to a four-year deal at $17 million per year. He would get paid without over-committing to a franchise that hasn’t shown it can compete at a high level. The Wild would have time to show him they are serious about building a winner without further jeopardizing their cap when he’s in his mid-to-late 30s.
            • If Kaprizov has looked at the Wild’s future and potential to win and decided he just doesn’t want to be here, then this is a crossroads. The Wild wouldn’t have to act immediately, but if they became convinced that he was not budging off that position they would have no choice but to trade Kaprizov rather than risk losing him in free agency for nothing (as happened with Marian Gaborik). That would be a huge setback for the franchise, even if they got good talent in return. For the sake of the Wild and their fans, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
              • Also on Thursday’s podcast, Star Tribune Vikings writer Andrew Krammer joined me to break down film of Monday’s win over the Bears. How did the Bears slow down J.J. McCarthy for three quarters, and what prompted his fourth quarter magic?
                • Raise your hand if you are concerned about the volume of key injuries the Vikings are facing on defense.
                  • The Lynx play their final regular-season game Thursday night against Golden State, and there is some intrigue. Though Minnesota has already secured the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, which begin Sunday, they control who they play in the first round. A win over Golden State would relegate the expansion Valkyries to the No. 8 seed and set up a rematch. A Lynx win on Thursday would make Seattle the No. 8 seed.
                    • Star Tribune columnist La Velle E. Neal III is expected to be my guest on Friday’s podcast for our weekly debate segment.
                      about the writer

                      about the writer

                      Michael Rand

                      Columnist / Reporter

                      Michael Rand is the Minnesota Star Tribune's Digital Sports Senior Writer and host/creator of the Daily Delivery podcast. In 25 years covering Minnesota sports at the Minnesota Star Tribune, he has seen just about everything (except, of course, a Vikings Super Bowl).

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