The news breaking Tuesday that Kirill Kaprizov turned down an NHL-record eight-year, $128 million contract offer from the Minnesota Wild sent a shock through the hockey world — and especially fans in Minnesota.
The most important question: What does it mean?
Kaprizov, who will be 29 when the new contract would kick in next July 1, would have had a $16 million average annual value under the deal, according to NHL insider Frank Seravalli, $2 million more than Leon Draisaitl, who has the NHL’s highest AAV for this coming season. And this is coming off a season in which Kaprizov missed 41 games with a lower-body injury that required surgery.
This wasn’t some lowball offer, as we knew it wouldn’t be when owner Craig Leipold suggested last week that this could and would be the biggest deal in NHL history, both in AAV and total dollars.
Heck, Draisaitl got a $5.5 million bump from $8.5 million to $14 million last fall on an extension, and he’s a four-time 50-goal scorer, six-time 100-point scorer, Hart Trophy winner and proven playoff performer. The Wild were willing to give Kaprizov a $7 million bump, and he hasn’t accepted it?
