Wild owner Craig Leipold attempts to sidestep providing Kaprizov contract updates

Wild owner Craig Leipold has been candid about the team’s strategy for trying to keep Kirill Kaprizov beyond the superstar’s current contract, which expires after the season.

“Nobody will offer more money than us or longer,” Leipold memorably said last October. “So, all we have to do is prove to him that we want to win.”

Nearly a year later, after another first-round playoff loss, little offseason spending and an ongoing negotiation with Kaprizov that reportedly has already included him turning down an eight-year, $128 million offer that would have been the most lucrative contract in NHL history, Leipold was much more discreet about the face of the franchise during his annual state-of-the-team address.

“There’s nothing to gain,” he said Thursday. “Everything to lose.”

Leipold declined to answer questions regarding Kaprizov, who made his preseason debut Thursday night in a 5-2 loss to Dallas at Grand Casino Arena, and instead Leipold spoke generically about the situation.

He mentioned how special a player Kaprizov is and that “we’d love to have a player of his caliber on our team.”

Asked how involved he is in the team’s contract talks and signings, Leipold said he’s not in the room with President of Hockey Operations Bill Guerin but that Guerin keeps him updated. Leipold also believes it’s likely the league’s stars, such as Kaprizov, Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Vegas’ Jack Eichel, start to re-sign once “the first domino” falls but noted, “We’ve only got one thing that we need to worry about, and we’re dealing with that.”

Until there’s a resolution with Kaprizov, the three-time 40-goal scorer and single-season franchise leader in goals, assists, and points, the 28-year-old’s status will be top of mind as he is approaching the end of his five-year, $45 million deal, but the Wild do have other goals.

Leipold is hopeful “things will open up” at the trade deadline and the Wild can cash in the cap space they held onto during the summer.

Finally unburdened by the most expensive years of the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts, the Wild were supposed to shop lavishly — Leipold predicted the offseason would be like Christmas Day — but their haul was modest, with forwards Vladimir Tarasenko and Nico Sturm the only established NHLers the team acquired.

“A lot of things changed in the NHL,” Leipold said. “Cap went up. People had more money. So, there weren’t players out there that we were that interested in.”

The salary cap increased by $7.5 million and will rise another $18 million over the next two years, a hike Leipold said he didn’t know was coming a year or two ago, but the Wild still plan to spend to the limit.

But the improvements the Wild are eyeing go beyond the roster.

Earlier this year, St. Paul and the Wild requested $50 million from the state to renovate the arena, which recently changed its name from Xcel Energy Center to Grand Casino Arena, after previously asking for the state to cover half of a $769 million plan to revamp downtown.

Under this new, $488 million proposal, the city and local partners would contribute $200 million, and the Wild would be on the hook for the rest.

“We have a really nice arena, but it is 26 years old now and there are things that people don’t see behind the walls that need to be upgraded and need to be brought to today’s environment,” said Leipold, who pointed out that the arena lacks amenities that fans can find at Vikings game inside U.S. Bank Stadium and when they watch the Twins at Target Field.

A potential partnership with the Timberwolves, who are seeking to build a new arena, is a moot point because “we are going to stay in St. Paul,” Leipold said, and he’s optimistic about receiving funding from the state.

Despite the uncertainty — with Kaprizov, the arena project, etc. — Leipold believes the season could turn out favorably.

While he was disappointed by the first-round exit to the Golden Knights last spring, he thought the Wild played well — “As well as they did,” he said — and that the six-game defeat was indicative of breaks not going the Wild’s way.

Their future, though, is much more intriguing than their past.