The Minnesota Wild and star player Kirill Kaprizov had been at a stalemate regarding a contract extension. The stalemate is now over between the franchise and its franchise player. A new 8-year extension has been signed, worth $136 million according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

This deal is now the largest in terms of AAV in NHL history. The contract has been confirmed to be worth $17 million per season for the next eight years. The extension will begin in the 2026-27 season, running through the 2033-34 season. The $17 million AAV eclipses the high-water mark of  Leon Draisaitl receiving a $14 million AAV contract. The totality of the contract also eclipses the $112 million of Draisaitl as the largest contract in NHL history.

The team also confirmed the reporting with a post on X, formerly Twitter, celebrating the deal. Kaprizov had previously rejected a $128 million extension with the club. That deal would have paid $16 million per year in AAV, but the Russian forward was able to get an extra million per year out of the Wild front office.

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The Kaprizov contract will have bigger impacts

Multiple star players are set to become free agents next summer. One of those was Kaprizov, but now his contract could spur others to get done. The major one is the contract of Connor McDavid. While there are rumors that McDavid may sign a short-term deal, his AAV should eclipse that of Kaprizov. Meanwhile, Artemi Panarin and Jack Eichel are also both free agents next summer.

Both of them have put up the production with their respective clubs that could garner similar contracts, if not exceeding those of this deal. Panarin is slightly older than Kaprizov, but Eichel is just 28 years old, a few months younger than Kaprizov, and coming off the best season of his career. Regardless, this historical contract is going to have ripple effects in the NHL, and more high-dollar contracts could be coming soon.