Kirill Kaprizov signs a five year deal with Minnesota Wild

After much deliberating, Kirill Kaprizov signed a five-year deal with the Minnesota Wild last night! It took awhile, but the team and the player finally came to a conclusion after rumors that he would play in the KHL.

In one of the most drawn out contract negotiations of the off season, Kirill Kaprizov finally signed a hefty deal with the Minnesota Wild last night. The deal came out to be $45 million for five years, an annual value of $9 million. That’s currently the highest cap number for any Minnesota Wild player, and the sixth-highest for any player 24 and under.

The Calder winner had 27 goals and 51 points in 55 games last season. He led the Wild in goals, points, points per game, and overtime goals. He also scored three game winning goals. He was only one vote shy of being a unanimous winner of the Calder trophy. Safe to say that the Minnesota Wild did the right thing in giving him a big contract, and he’s certainly proved himself in his first season.

Talks for this deal were sometimes tense over the summer, and at one point there was “deafening silence” between both sides as they tried to come to an agreement. Kaprizov couldn’t sign an offer sheet, but he did say that he was considering going back to Russia’s KHL where he’d played for six seasons as leverage to get the number he wanted.

What to expect from Kaprizov

It’s likely to see Kaprizov become one of the core players on the Minnesota Wild. If his second season is anything like his first, he’ll continue to be successful and stun the fans as he absolutely dominates the game. I think it’s likely he’ll lead the team again in goals and points, and he’ll definitely be worth every dime of that annual 9 mil.

Kaprizov will definitely be a big part of the Minnesota Wild trying for a cup run. There are a lot of great teams in the Western Division and Kaprizov could be the very thing that sets them apart and makes them cup contenders.