The Minnesota Wild made a big move and signed Kirill Kaprizov to a contract that made him the highest-paid NHL player for next season. Kaprizov is set to carry a cap hit of $17 million on his eight-year, $136 million contract, which is beating out the likes of top players such as Kyle Connor, Connor McDavid, and others.
Though some may be questioning why the Wild would make such an offer to Kaprizov, it looks like they didn't have a choice, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.
“The Wild had no choice but to overpay,” LeBrun wrote. “I’m sure they wish Kaprizov would have taken more of a team-first attitude like McDavid did. It probably will be awkward at times in that dressing room for Kaprizov to look Matt Boldy in the eye and know he’s making $10 million more per year than him starting next season.
“In saying all that, one of the ways the Wild can justify paying Kaprizov more than any other superstar in the league is that the rest of their core is locked up to decent contracts: Boldy at a $7 million average annual value through 2030, Joel Eriksson Ek at $5.25 million through 2029, Marco Rossi at $5 million through 2028, Brock Faber at $8.5 million through 2033 and Filip Gustavsson at $6.8 million through 2031.”
Last season, Kaprizov recorded 25 goals and added 56 points while being limited to 41 games because of an injury. In their playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights, he added five goals and nine points in six games, but Minnesota was unable to advance. He was going to be considered a Hart Trophy candidate with his strong start to last season, but the lower-body injury he suffered held him back.
Now, many are looking to see if Kaprizov can live up to the contract, and it seems as if general manager Bill Guerin doesn't have any regrets giving him the ultra-lucrative deal.
