The Minnesota Wild are looking to make sure Kirill Kaprizov sticks around for the long term.
With the NHL regular season around the corner, Wild owner Craig Leipold is planning ahead when it comes to his star forward
“He’s going to be the focus of what we’re going to do,” Leipold told reporters during training camp. “We plan to re-sign him. I will tell you nobody will offer more money than us, or longer (years), so all we have to do is prove to him that we want to win.”
Minnesota still has some time before an extension with the 27-year-old can be signed. Kaprizov has two years remaining on his current contract which pays him $9 million per season.
Kaprizov has led the Wild in score the last four seasons after scoring 46 goals and 96 points in 75 games last season.
Minnesota is also focused on ensuring the team can be competitive when it tries to sign Kaprizov to an extension.
The team was limited in how much cap space was available this off-season because of the buyouts to Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. The two buyouts had a combined dead cap over $14.7 million but will just be $1.66 million combined over the next four seasons.
With that space opening up and the salary cap expected to see another increase, Leipold is intrigued by the possibilities.
“Next July 1 is going to be like Christmas,” Leipold said. “We’re going to have money available. We’re going to have the resources available to do what we need to do to get back to Wild hockey, and we’re looking forward to that. We look at who could be available next year. You’re going to ask me, who are those players? I won’t tell you.”
