Despite finishing fourth in the Central Division last season, the Minnesota Wild still squeaked out a Wild Card berth in the playoffs. Their season was ended in six games by the Vegas Golden Knights. Yet, 2025-26 offers plenty of optimism for the Wild. After resigning the up-and-coming Marco Rossi to a new contract, the focus for Minnesota GM Bill Guerin will undoubtedly be on star winger Kirill Kaprizov. According to the Athletic's Michael Russo on his podcast (via Pro Hockey Rumors), the Wild could offer Kaprizov as much as $16 million a season on a new contract.
“In their effort to lock up a player capable of 50-goal and 60-assist seasons, Minnesota could end up paying as much as $16MM per season, per Michael Russo of The Athletic on his ’Worst Seats In The House’ podcast,” reported Pro Hockey Rumors a couple days ago.
Based on how the market is progressing, that big of a pay raise wouldn't be surprising in the least. After all, the Vegas Golden Knights just inked another star winger, Mitch Marner, to an eight-year deal with $12 million a season. An AAV of $16 million is not out of the question for Kaprizov, especially since the cap is only projected to rise over the next few years. After Rossi received a three-year deal worth five million a year, Guerin and the Wild front office surely want to lock in their franchise star. Can both sides reach a deal before Kaprizov is scheduled to reach free agency next offseason?
Wild look to improve in 2025-26 amid multiple contract issues
At the moment, the cap for next season is projected to be closer to $110 million, as early projections have it around $108 million. After resigning Rossi, Guerin and the Wild front office not only need to resign Kaprizov, but have other deals to work out. Most notably would be goaltender Filip Gustavsson, who has expressed interest in an extension.
However, Kaprizov has to be the focus. The Russian winger is the engine that paces the Wild's attack. According to Russo, Kaprizov would like at least a five-year deal. Minnesota would certainly lock to lock in their star for that long, if not longer. Resigning Rossi was likely a key move made by Guerin. Can the GM convince Kaprizov to sign on the dotted line as well?
