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The Minnesota Wild and star forward Kirill Kaprizov ended their dramatic contract as the restricted free agent signed a five-year, $ 45 million extension on Tuesday.
The team announced the deal, which is worth an average of $ 9 million annually through the 2025-26 season, an extraordinary cap number for a player with just 55 NHL games to his name. This is the highest number for a Minnesota player, and it is the sixth highest number for an NHL player aged 24 or under. This is the 18th highest among all forwards in the NHL.
Kaprizov, 24, had 27 goals and 51 points in 55 games as a rookie last season with the Wild, to a first-place vote from the unanimous Calder Trophy winner as rookie of the year. He is one of four rookies since the 1992-93 season to lead a scoring playoff qualifying team.
Discussions between the Wild and Kaprizov were sometimes tense. Sources told ESPN there was “deafening silence” between the parties this summer. While Kaprizov was unable to sign an offer as a restricted free agent, there have been discussions he could use the opportunity to play in the Russian Continental Hockey League – where he played for six. seasons before jumping into the NHL in 2020-21 – as leverage.
General manager Bill Guerin said last week that he was not concerned about continuing talks as training camp nears.
“You have to be patient. It’s not just us who are involved in this. He’s a player and his feelings and what he feels, so we all treat him a little bit differently,” he said. . “These things are complicated and can take a long time.” After signing the deal, Kaprizov posted a simple message on Instagram with a photo of the Wild celebrating a goal: “Let’s go.”
Minnesota are set to make a big push in the Western Conference this season, and Kaprizov is a major part of the plans. Over the summer, Guerin bought out the contracts of longtime Wild players Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to create salary cap space for the team’s youth movement.
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