Things are getting spicy between the Minnesota Wild and their main man, Kirill Kaprizov.
Within the span of 24 hours, rumor has it that the franchise has gone from offering the Russian winger an eight-year, $128 million contract to making peace with the fact that Kaprizov staying in Minnesota might not be a given after all.
Could The Minnesota Wild Entertain a Kirill Kaprizov Trade?
RG Media’s Daria Tuboltseva brought to light an interesting little rumour about the Wild finding themselves in a tricky situation with the face of the franchise.
Per Russian insider Alexei Shevchenko, the Wild have asked Kaprizov to jot down a list of teams he’d accept a trade to.
Per journalist Alexei Shevchenko, the #mnwild have asked Kirill Kaprizov for his trade list.
— Daria Tuboltseva (@DariaTuboltseva) September 11, 2025
It’s important to note that Kaprizov has a full no-movement clause, which means he will have full say over where he lands if he wishes to look for greener pastures.
On his 32 Thoughts podcast, fellow insider Elliotte Friedman speculated that the fact Kaprizov rejected the $128M offer that would have set an NHL record signals that the Russian winger probably knows another team would be willing to give him an even bigger payday.
At an average annual value of $16M, the deal on the table from Minnesota would clear the NHL’s current highest salary, one that belongs to Oilers star Leon Draisaitl’s $14M-a-year deal.
For what it’s worth, Minnesota GM Bill Guerin rubbished rumors of Kaprizov rejecting the deal. “I don’t know where this stuff comes from. I know two things: that info didn’t come from us, and it didn’t come from Kirill’s agent. I still think we’re in a really positive place with Kirill,” Guerin said on the 10K Takes podcast.
A point to note in the Kaprizov trade sweepstakes is that any deal he lands will only kick in next year, which means a team only needs to fit in his $9M cap hit this year. However, trading for Kaprizov will not be so straightforward.
The Wild will likely demand a serious return, potentially one that includes a player ready to contribute in the here and now, given the timeline of the current makeup of the team.
As of the time of writing, there have been no concrete rumors of another team being willing to offer Kaprizov more money than Minnesota’s eight-year, $128M offer. However, if a player of Kaprizov’s caliber were to be made available, teams are likely to open up their purse strings to accelerate their timelines.
However, if Kaprizov refuses to waive his no-movement clause and walks on a free, that would make next year’s free agency the Wild Wild West.
