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KHL Proving Wild Threat to Minnesota
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KHL Proving Wild Threat to Minnesota

Will budding NHL star Kirill Kaprizov bolt to Russia?

Aug 17, 2021
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KHL Proving Wild Threat to Minnesota
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Tensions in Kaprizov-Minnesota Negotiations Rising

What’s Happening: It’s been a wild summer financially for Minnesota. After the expensive buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, the negotiations for their star RFA Kirill Kaprizov took another turn last week. 

With dealings with the Wild seeming unsatisfactory to date, Daily Faceoff reported that Kaprisov has a tentative one-year agreement in place with his former KHL team, CSKA Moscow, for September 1 that would see the Calder Trophy winner earn $10 million. 

Twitter avatar for @TheHockeyNewsThe Hockey News @TheHockeyNews
Could the Wild Trade Kirill Kaprizov? Kaprizov's contract negotiations with the #Wild took a surprising turn on Monday. He's reportedly reached a tentative agreement on a one-year contract to go back to the #KHL, writes @SpectorsHockey:
Could the Wild Trade Kirill Kaprizov?Kaprizov’s contract negotiations with the Wild took a surprising turn on Monday. He’s reportedly reached a tentative agreement on a one-year contract to go back to the KHL. That move could make the 24-year-old winger the subject of trade speculation.si.com

August 11th 2021

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Contract expectations are always inflated on either side of any negotiation, but Kaprizov offers an interesting scenario. At 24-years-old, he’s just completed his first NHL season — 55 games of experience, to be exact. He won the Calder Trophy and held his own in the postseason, totaling two goals and an assist in seven games against Vegas. He can also become a UFA in the summer of 2024. With that in mind, term and not money seem to be where both sides are digging in. Reports from The Athletic state Minnesota has offers on the table of between $8 and $9 annually on deals between 6 and 8 years. Kaprizov is said to want that money on a shorter-term contract. 

New Era for Big Money: Wild GM Bill Guerin certainly doesn’t want to negotiate against himself; Kaprizov has no NHL leverage — he has no arbitration rights and can’t be signed to an offer sheet. So perhaps Kaprizov has drummed himself up a little leverage by dangling the rich KHL agreement.

While it’s not common to have your rookie deal up after your inaugural season, Kaprizov isn’t the first elongated RFA contract negotiation we’ve seen recently. Just this off-season, Cale Makar and Miro Heiskanen got big money. Notable pending RFAs around the league include Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, Brady Tkachuk, Rasmus Dahlin, among others. We don’t have to go back too far to remember Pierre-Luc Dubois forcing himself out of Columbus or Mitch Marner winning his contract standoff with Toronto. 

The new NHL is where star young players go to get paid. 

Twitter avatar for @barstoolsportsBarstool Sports @barstoolsports
Kirill Kaprizov Is About To Mess Around And Change The Way NHL Contracts Are Signed Forever
barstoolsports.com/blog/3377772/k…
Image

August 11th 2021

6 Retweets135 Likes

Why It Matters: There’s not much doubt that Kaprizov is already a great player and will likely get better. But does he already deserve to get paid among the best players in the league, after just completing his first NHL season? 

Deserve is a big word there. In a hard cap league, players are even more so boxed into figurative contractual spaces. With the players on the wrong side of the pandemic-induced revenue sharing agreement with the owners — causing the cap to stay flat for the next three or so seasons — player salaries are due to also remain mostly flat. On a side note, the NHLPA really has its work cut out for it in the next CBA to make things right with their constituents. 

But for now, players like Kirill Kaprizov keep pushing the financial envelope forward for younger players. If Minnesota isn’t careful, he could be running wild in Moscow come September. 

Links from the Rink

  • Detailed Account: More Details Come Out in Blackhawks Players Abuse Allegations 

  • Living in Escrow: The Steve Dangle Podcast Discusses How Much Money the Players Owe the Owners

  • Under the Knife: Auston Matthews to Miss 6 Weeks after Wrist Surgery

  • Welcome Back: 42-year-old Joe Thornton Joins Panthers for another NHL Season

  • Doh!:The Dos and Donts when Skating with NHLers in the Summer

Shot

Twitter avatar for @TBLightningTampa Bay Lightning @TBLightning
Now that’s fine dining. 🏆🤌 @MathJoseph7

August 15th 2021

491 Retweets3,993 Likes

Chaser

Twitter avatar for @FriedgeHNICElliotte Friedman @FriedgeHNIC
NHL sent a memo updating vaccination requirements to its teams: "Any person whose job, role, position or access entails or entitles them to have personal interactions (within 12 feet) with Club Hockey Operations personnel (including Players) are required to be Fully Vaccinated."

August 13th 2021

881 Retweets6,583 Likes
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