The Minnesota Wild intend to sign star forward Kirill Kaprizov to a long-term contract when he comes eligible on July 1, owner Craig Leopold said.
That's good, because Kaprizov will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2025-26 season. The 27-year-old Russian has two seasons remaining on his five-year, $45 million contract.
"He's going to be the focus of what we're going to do," Leipold said Tuesday. "We plan to re-sign him. I will tell you nobody will offer more money than us, or longer (years), so all we have to do is prove to him that we want to win."
The Wild will have some money with which to play after this season.
Forward Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter will count $833,333 each per season against the salary cap as part of their buyouts, as opposed to the $7,371,795 each commands this season.
"Next July 1 is going to be like Christmas," Leipold said. "We're going to have money available. We're going to have the resources available to do what we need to do to get back to Wild hockey, and we're looking forward to that. We look at who could be available next year. You're going to ask me, who are those players? I won't tell you."
Kaprizov led the Wild in goals (46) and points (96) in 75 games last season.
The Calder Trophy recipient as the NHL rookie of the year in 2020-21, Kaprizov has totaled 330 points (160 goals, 170 assists) in 278 career games with the Wild.
