Article: The Kirill Kaprizov Rumor Mill Is Here To Stay

[Lern2spell]

2 hours ago, raithis said:

Doing this over the last few years would have knocked us back into the hole Fletcher dug for us.

Kaprizov not re-signing will immediately set them back in the same hole.

There were two ways to manage the three years of cap hell created by the buy-outs:

1)  Sign some skilled players Kap would be willing to make a run with in 2025-26 and beyond, play a bunch of kids on ELC'S, and let some veterans walk when their contracts were up. Results would probably be missing the playoffs (missed playoffs anyways last year).

2) Try and field a team that can compete for the playoffs during the cap recapture years, and hoping it is enough for Kap to want to stick around. This is what Guerin did by re-signing some vets, hoping for a resurge in secondary scoring this year. 1st year of cap hell, they made the playoffs. Last year they did not, putting a spotlight on how crucial this year is for the immediate future. The Wild have drafted pretty well, and may have some very nice pieces to put in place in the next couple of years, but nobody (including Kaprizov) knows how that will work out. 

My point was simply that option 1 would have at least increased the chances Kaprizov would re-sign.

Either way, not having 97 in two years would put the Wild back in a hole...

 

 

[hydguy75]

On 9/26/2024 at 1:18 PM, Citizen Strife said:

The main thing is location.  I have never gotten the sense Kaprizov is a "me first" bright lights kinda guy...  I think location comes down to weather and comfort.

Chicago and Minnesota have extremely similar climates, also very comparable to KK's hometown.  This argument doesn't hold water.  At KK's income, comfort can be bought in any locale.  If he wanted better climate, Shy-town isn't far enough south.  

If KK has that strong of a desire to leave, then it's for a team that has a better chance at cup dynasty during his NHL career than what MN is trying to build around him.  

[Citizen Strife]

I wasn't really considering climate as my main point when I said that.  Chicago is a much bigger city and "higher pressure" environment than the Twin Cities.  Some people might be drawn to that sort of thing, some may not.  Weather plays a factor, but might not be that big a deal.

Edited September 27 by Citizen Strife

[MacGyver]

I was listening to Sirius NHL radio awhile back and they were talking with Jordan Leopold iirc. They talked for quite awhile about the things a player considers important when choosing a team to go to or choosing which teams to put on their no go list.  The players wife and or girlfriend it seemed had almost as much to say about it as the player. Which makes sense, I would never make my wife move somewhere she didn't want to go nor would I consider living separately.

Next seemed to be if the team has a winning culture followed by tax rates and city culture and safety. Climate was a consideration as well but didn't seem to be a deal killer for many. 

[raithis]

On 9/27/2024 at 3:39 PM, Lern2spell said:

Kaprizov not re-signing will immediately set them back in the same hole.

There were two ways to manage the three years of cap hell created by the buy-outs:

1)  Sign some skilled players Kap would be willing to make a run with in 2025-26 and beyond, play a bunch of kids on ELC'S, and let some veterans walk when their contracts were up. Results would probably be missing the playoffs (missed playoffs anyways last year).

2) Try and field a team that can compete for the playoffs during the cap recapture years, and hoping it is enough for Kap to want to stick around. This is what Guerin did by re-signing some vets, hoping for a resurge in secondary scoring this year. 1st year of cap hell, they made the playoffs. Last year they did not, putting a spotlight on how crucial this year is for the immediate future. The Wild have drafted pretty well, and may have some very nice pieces to put in place in the next couple of years, but nobody (including Kaprizov) knows how that will work out. 

My point was simply that option 1 would have at least increased the chances Kaprizov would re-sign.

Either way, not having 97 in two years would put the Wild back in a hole...

 

 

No, it doesn't.  Fletcher left us with almost no prospect pool at all.  It's not the same.

Option 1 also doesn't work because skilled players cost more, meaning you have two good lines and the rest of your roster is worse than ours is now.  With that you are literally 1-2 injuries from tanking the entire season where with the team now, we could absorb 1-2 injuries.  I think we have a better shot of making the playoffs with the current team rather than what your proposing - and that is more likely to get Kaprizov to stay than missing them again.

Then next offseason, after the recapture penalties are mostly off the books, we enhance the team by adding a skill player.