The Minnestota Wild and Kirill Kaprizov have worked out a record deal for the Russian forward.
On Tuesday, Kaprizov signed an eight-year, $136 million contract extension that will keep him in Minnesota through the 2033-24 season. The average annual value of $17 million and total contract dollars are the highest in NHL history. The deal also contains considerable signing bonuses, according to The Athletic.
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The $17 millon AAV breaks the previous record held by Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl ($14 million).
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Kaprizov’s new deal will kick in with the 2026-27 NHL season. His current contract, a five-year, $45 million extension signed in Sept. 2021, will expire after this coming season.
The 28-year-old Kaprizov, a fifth-round pick by the Wild in the 2015 NHL draft, is entering his sixth season. Since coming into the league in 2020-21, he has scored 185 goals, including three 40-goal seasons, and recorded 386 points.
Negotiations between the two sides had been ongoing as training camp approached. But a week before players reported, Kaprizov reportedly rejected an eight-year, $128 million contract.
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“You guys know I like Minny and everyone knows this,” Kaprizov after camp opened two weeks ago. “We have a lot of time [to sign]. It’s just 2025 and it’s one more year I have. I just want to play hockey and focus and win some games and go into [the Stanley Cup] Playoffs] and win there. Just focus on this now.”
How the massive Kaprizov deal affects future NHL contracts will be intriguing. Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid can be an unrestricted free agent next summer and currently carries a $12.5 million salary cap hit on his eight-year, $100 million contract, which he signed in 2017.
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