The reported contract offer would have made the star winger the highest-paid skater in NHL history.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Editor’s note: Above video first aired Aug. 29, 2025.
A re-signing that was once thought to be as difficult as scoring an empty-net goal may now be taking a dramatic turn, as an NHL insider says star winger Kirill Kaprizov has spurned a historic contract offer from the Minnesota Wild.
NHL insider Frank Seravalli posted on X that Kaprizov’s camp has turned down an eight-year, $128 million offer that would make him the highest-paid skater in NHL history. Seravalli said Kaprizov’s representatives said no to the deal during a meeting Tuesday with Wild leadership.
Sources say #mnwild superstar Kirill Kaprizov’s camp turned down an extension offer believed to be 8-years, $128 million in a meeting on Tuesday in Minnesota that would have made him the highest-paid player in #NHL history in both AAV ($16 million) and total dollars.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) September 10, 2025
Wild General Manager Bill Guerin did not comment when asked about the report by The Athletic.
Kaprizov is heading into the final year of a five-year, $45 million contract he signed in 2021, which pays the high-scoring Russian a base salary of $7,500,000 annually. He has been vocal about the importance of winning and the Wild’s stretch of first-round playoff exits has not sat well.
Some believe that Minnesota’s failure to surround him with more elite talent has created doubt in Kaprizov’s mind about the team’s commitment to winning. If his agents indeed turned down an eight-year, $16 million per season contract, Kaprizov still has the option of signing a shorter-term deal, say three or four years, that would allow him to exit if the Wild are not in the hunt for a Stanley Cup.
The Wild, meanwhile, are left in a tenuous situation. They could attempt to engineer a blockbuster trade that would bring in an influx of new talent (likely not Kaprizov-level talent) or risk their star playing out the season and watching him walk for zero return.
Guerin played hardball with young center Marco Rossi, staring him down until Rossi inked a three-year, $15 million deal just weeks ago. He will not have that leverage with Kaprizov, who clearly is in the driver’s seat as the stalemate plays out.
Kaprizov has notched three 40-goal seasons and is clearly the most elite talent in Wild history, but missed 41 games last season due to injury. He also missed significant time in 2022-23 and 2023-24, raising questions about his long-term durability and the wisdom of an eight-year investment.