There have been a lot of rumors and speculation going around since it was released that Kirill Kaprizov reportedly turned down a contract for eight years worth $128 million last week. It would’ve made him the highest-paid player not only in the Minnesota Wild’s history but also in the NHL. Ever since the news came out, different reasons have been given for why he turned it down. Some have said the term was too long, some have said it wasn’t enough money, and the list went on.
On the first day of the Wild’s training camp, general manager Bill Guerin spent about 25 minutes discussing different things, but the majority of the questions were about Kaprizov’s contract, which was no surprise to Guerin. He was ready to answer the questions even when he couldn’t say more than “I can’t comment”. In this article, we’ll look at a few key points surrounding Kaprizov’s contract, starting with how the team has been through this before.
Wild Respect the Process
Five years ago, the same thing happened with Kaprizov and the Wild. It was a long contract negotiation that held on until a few days before training camp started. So, in reality, this is nothing new; contract negotiations happen all the time, and players saying no to the first offer or two is normal. What is new is how all eyes are on this contract, even more so than five years ago. Kaprizov has shown the caliber of player he is, and the Wild have stated they are going to do everything in their power to keep him here.
“Focus on the team, this is not the first time that this has happened. There’s other players in the league that are going through it, other teams that are going through it. We are not special, we’re not the only ones. Focus on the team and what’s the task at hand, and that’s getting off to a good start. Having another good training camp, you saw what it did for us last year. John’s (Hynes) got everybody dialed in, they’re all on the same page, that’s what’s really important right now,” said Guerin in terms of how important it is to focus on the team, but also know other teams are going through the same thing with contract negotiations, and it’s not out of the ordinary.
“I’m not going to comment on stuff like that; that is meant to be private. It just doesn’t help; it doesn’t help to try to do things publicly. Look, it’s his life, it’s his contract, it’s his livelihood, I’m not going to be out here telling you guys everything that’s going on. It just doesn’t help.” Guerin said when asked about the specifics of the contract negotiations, and he continued later, “You guys know me, I like to be pretty honest with you, as honest as I can, I’m going to be honest with you. I’m not telling you anything.”
Kaprizov Wants to Stay
Two things that haven’t wavered in this ongoing contract negotiation are that Kaprizov wants to stay and the Wild want to keep him. Neither side has backed off or hesitated in the fact that they want to keep him here. He’s stated multiple times that he likes Minnesota and his teammates and wants to stay here, which he was still adamant about on the first day of training camp.
“You guys know I like Minny; everyone knows this. We have a lot of time, it’s just 2025, it’s one more year I have, and I just want to play hockey and focus and win some games and go into playoffs….just focus on this now,” Kaprizov said when asked if he wants to stay in Minnesota.
“These negotiations are private; I can’t really get into it. Things are fine. The most important thing is that we want to sign Kirill. He’s our franchise player; we want to keep him here. He’s a big part of our team. We’re working towards that, we’re doing the best we can, and hopefully we’ll get there sooner than later, but today’s more about the team and getting off on the right foot.” Guerin said about Kaprizov’s contract negotiations, but wanted to keep focused on the team, as he stated multiple times throughout the interview and he addressed how the information got out as well.
“In today’s day and age, people just make stuff up too, and they just throw things out there. Not everything written on social media is true, not everything’s false, but I can’t help what other people do. It’s not important, what’s important is our relationship with our players from Kirill on down and we can’t let things like that get in the way of our relationship, of our negotiations, our business dealings or trying to keep our players protected from stupid stuff,” Guerin said in response to how the information regarding Kaprizov’s contract was not released by the Wild or Kaprizov’s side.
Wild Can’t Allow Distraction
This goes for both the team and Kaprizov himself. While it’s easy for everyone to say they’ll focus on the season and not allow it to be a distraction, a contract negotiation of this magnitude is going to be somewhat of a distraction, no matter who is involved. Fans will be talking about it, it’ll be all over social media, in a way, it’ll be hard to get away from it, but in terms of someone like Kaprizov, once he steps on the ice, he should, in a way, be able to forget about it at least temporarily, as will his teammates.
Once on the ice, all that matters is how the team is playing and getting along. No one is going to be talking about contracts or the amount of money someone is getting; it’s all about scoring goals and winning games, but off the ice is a different story. However, Guerin and Kaprizov are optimistic that both he and the team will remain focused on winning, and not on whether he’s signed or not.
“Knowing him as well as I do, he’s a pretty tough kid, and I think when he puts his mind to it, he can focus. The thing about him is that he just loves hockey, he loves the game, he loves to compete, and I think he puts everything he has into it, and I think that really helps,” said Guerin about Kaprizov’s ability to focus on the game without his contract becoming a distraction.
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“It’s my job, you know, just focus on hockey and the camp right now. I just want to be practicing, we have a lot of time. I just want to practice and be ready for the season and focus on this right now,” Kaprizov said about focusing on playing. Hopefully, before the season starts, the two sides will be able to reach an agreement and get the contract signed, that way everyone can truly focus on winning games and making a deep run into the postseason.
