Kirill Kaprizov’s next deal is going to be very expensive for the Wild

Kirill Kaprizov has been a special player through the first month of the 2024-25 NHL regular season. The Minnesota Wild forward has nine goals and 19 assists for 28 points through 15 games, second in league scoring, and is the early-season favorite to win the Hart Trophy.

The 27-year-old will be eligible for a contract extension at the end of the season, and is expected to get a hefty raise from the $9 million annual average value (AAV) he currently makes. Wild owner Craig Leipold said last month that no one will offer more money or longer years than Minnesota, so it’s up to the team and Kaprizov’s representation to hammer out a deal.

On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discuss Kaprizov’s upcoming contract and whether it will put him among the highest-paid players in the league.

Tyler Yaremchuk: I’m going to say that Kaprizov won’t just be expensive for the Wild, but his next deal with carry an AAV higher than Leon Draisaitl’s $14 million. On a scale of one to 10, where do you rank that hot take?

Frank Seravalli: A five – you’re not insanely far off, but you’re still kind of far off. You’re in the zip code, but not the neighborhood. He’s a really impressive player and the Wild will pay up to keep him, and they have to, since he’s the driving force in everything they do.

We know that Kaprizov and his agent are willing to push a bit, because he got a mostly unprecedented second deal. He’s definitely inline for a sizeable raise, I just don’t know if it will be $14 million big.

Tyler Yaremchuk: You mentioned Minnesota’s cap space, and they finally have that dead money from Zach Parise and Ryan Suter dropping off, going from $14.7 million this year to just $1.6 million next season. So that $13 million could do it.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…