The Minnesota Wild look like trouble this season. With a 10-2-3 record, they sit in second place in the NHL's Central Division, trailing only the league's hottest team, the Winnipeg Jets.
The Wild are one of the bigger surprises on the season, as no one projected them to be a divisional leader in 2024. But here they are getting quality goaltending and an offensive group proving to the league that it is much more potent than given credit for.
That offense starts and ends with Russian superstar and the Wild's top player, Kirill Kaprizov. It's hard to believe this is only his fifth season in the NHL, since Kaprizov has been one of the best scorers in the game since arriving in North America. This season is more of the same, posting nine goals and 28 points in his first 15 games to lead the Wild and put him near the top of the NHL's scoring leaderboard.
There is one looming question hanging over the Wild's front office and Kaprizov that must be answered over the following months: will Minnesota sign their best player to a long-term contract extension? This is Kaprizov's final season on his current deal. and the Wild are keen on keeping him around for the long haul.
But according to Wild General Manager Bill Guerin, neither side is focused on getting a deal done right now. Rather, the focus is on playing this season out and the work on the ice. Speaking to NHL.com, Guerin made it clear that while they want to get a new contract finalized, it's not something he is worried about while the season is ongoing.
"No. We're a long way away from that," he said. "We're just focusing on the season. We just want to play. Kirill just wants to play hockey. We just want to play hockey. We'll figure all that out later"
Kaprizov may just want to play hockey, but the rest of the hockey world has their eye on this contract situation. He is in line for a huge pay day, with two 90+ point seasons and thee 75+ point seasons in his first four NHL campaigns. He's a superstar player that transforms the Wild from average team to sneaky threat in the Western Conference. As the season progresses, the questions will become more frequent as the Wild and Kaprizov try to finalize the next massive contract extension in the NHL.
