Article: Can Kirill Kaprizov Live Up To Highest-Paid-In-the-NHL Billing?

[Tony Abbott]

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[Citizen Strife]

Minnesota can't be choosy. Just do it.

[SkolWild73]

I am sure most of us would like him signed no matter that dollar amount.  If it is at the lower end at 14M, great, a little more money for the rest of the roster.  But if he gets 16M, I am fine with it.  We have never had a player of his caliber, so a couple mill a year won’t hurt my feelings.

[Enforceror]

19 minutes ago, SkolWild73 said:

I am sure most of us would like him signed no matter that dollar amount.  If it is at the lower end at 14M, great, a little more money for the rest of the roster.  But if he gets 16M, I am fine with it.  We have never had a player of his caliber, so a couple mill a year won’t hurt my feelings.

Agreed. What 2M impact piece would be missing out on?

[SkolWild73]

47 minutes ago, Enforceror said:

Agreed. What 2M impact piece would be missing out on?

Probably not much.  Just 2M more to offer someone if it came down to that.

[Protec]

1 hour ago, Citizen Strife said:

Minnesota can't be choosy. Just do it.

I remain apprehensive. 

He is the best MN has had. Great player. Worthy of being called the best the Wild have had. 

Coming off the worst contract penalties in the history of hockey, should the Wild go hard? OCL helped get the Wild in a bind once already. Now he's speaking out of turn and giving Kirill the farm so to speak. 

It seems unwise. Give him a great offer. Don't give him the highest paid, long deal. He's great but I think he's in the top 15-20 guys and he's not a center. I think you wanna stay at or below 13M. People are scared he'll wanna leave. 12M/5yrs is what I think makes sense and was maybe realistic given this season. Except OCL said that public stuff and now my gut says <13M would be an insult or appear to be cheapskate-offer. 

[OldDutchChip]

Last season, there were just three wingers in Tier 1: Kucherov (1B), Pastrnak (1C), and Tkachuk (1C). None of these three are better than Kap. Pay him and make Kap highest paid player in the league. He is worth it. 

And this is all just until the next star is up for the contract. Which will come in higher than Kap. So set the market now, but it's a matter of time before someone else pays more. 

[Protec]

In terms of the savings, I think it's more about what MN can do in the shuffle. 2-3M on it's own may not seem like much, but combined with let's say Fred's money if he were traded and some available cap and MN could afford a more expensive bigger name player. Especially if part of larger picture puzzle. 

My.02 cents. 

I been liking the idea to offer-sheet Knies from Toronto or perhaps try to trade for Pastrnak, something big but not as risky as diving back into an albatross contractike the 11/20 deals. 

I think Kirill will continue to be great but is he top 5 in the NHL. At times, yes. It's kinda already done in my mind due to OCL's comments. 

[OldDutchChip]

1 hour ago, Protec said:

In terms of the savings, I think it's more about what MN can do in the shuffle. 2-3M on it's own may not seem like much, but combined with let's say Fred's money if he were traded and some available cap and MN could afford a more expensive bigger name player. Especially if part of larger picture puzzle. 

My.02 cents. 

I been liking the idea to offer-sheet Knies from Toronto or perhaps try to trade for Pastrnak, something big but not as risky as diving back into an albatross contractike the 11/20 deals. 

I think Kirill will continue to be great but is he top 5 in the NHL. At times, yes. It's kinda already done in my mind due to OCL's comments. 

Imagine if Billy signs Kap AND trades for Pasta? Or Kap leaves and we sign Brock 

time will tell 😎🍺

[Lern2spell]

2 hours ago, Protec said:

It seems unwise. Give him a great offer. Don't give him the highest paid, long deal. He's great but I think he's in the top 15-20 guys and he's not a center. I think you wanna stay at or below 13M. People are scared he'll wanna leave. 12M/5yrs is what I think makes sense and was maybe realistic given this season. Except OCL said that public stuff and now my gut says <13M would be an insult or appear to be cheapskate-offer. 

The caveat with all this is Kaprizov's NMC. If he doesn't sign and goes on the trade market, any return will be peanuts. If he plays out the season and then walks, it should be the beginning of the end for Guerin's tenure. If he is going to take a lowball offer, it would probably be with a team that is closer to winning a cup than the Wild (and yes, the Wild are not there yet). But with what went down with Rantanen fresh on everyone's mind, I believe a deal gets done in the $15M-$16M range, although part of me feels Kap is pretty level-headed, and likes being a big fish in a small pond with a passionate fan base, and comes in matching Draisaitl's number...

[bisopher]

He gets 8 X $15MM. It will be the biggest contract in NHL history, only until Marner or someone else surpasses it.  Just like Kirby Puckett in the late 80s, he was the highest paid player in MLB, but only until the next $$$ contract was signed.

[Beast]

Obviously, they’re going to do it.  And they should.  It would be a PR nightmare if they don’t.

I do have some concerns, though.  

Can he stay healthy?  I’m not overly concerned, but he does miss time.

Geurin hasn’t found a way to build a team around him at a much lower cap number.  The buyouts coming off the books will be replaced by his astronomical cap number.   Can they ever truly compete for a Cup?  (This is more of an indictment on Geurin than Kaprisov, but still a question).

Again, I’m certainly not advocating letting him go.  But I think the conversation is more nuanced than just making him the highest paid NHLer no questions asked.

 

Edited 7 hours ago by Beast

[Sam]

I’m glad Guerin and Co. see the importance of keeping Kap. I think he works well with Boldy, but needs a true 1C. I sure hope we make a big move this offseason.

[Will D. Ness]

Why do we watch Minnesota Wild hockey?  

To those who think the purpose of watching Wild hockey is to bitch and moan and gripe about shit:

Strongly disagree about paying KK97 top tier money.  Therefore, the catalyst for bitching and moaning will continue for years to come.  

Now if the purpose of watching the Wild is to nitpick GM decision making:

Let's dive into minutia and use a half-assed armchair methodology in analyzing the value of KK97.  Maybe pull out some highly flawed BS stat and tout it like it is the litmus test of all hockey skill?  Then we can get in a debate about overpaying KK97 by 0.01% and therefore screwing the future of this horribly managed team and come full circle and call it an albatross signing of an aging vet.

Me personally, I think we should overpay a little.  If there is anyone on this team that deserves 1M more and 1Y more, it's KK97.  Make him the highest paid player in the league this offseason.  I don't think he needs this somewhat vain motivation or anything, but it would make a statement.  

[Burnt Toast]

What is happening, most likely, July 1st+ might be remembered as “The Perfect Storm”. I’m not sure how much credit is deserved for advanced planning by KK’s agent or if the timing of the incoming Mega Contract is luck…. Cap rises at record pace, Kap’s contract is up for resigning, MN’s Cap Buyouts off the books, Wild owner communicates “Blank Check” policy, GM clears the books with room to spare. Reads like a player agent’s dream scenario. At the center of the storm is the player. Kaprizov is 28, usually considered prime age in the NHL. Elevates players around him, hard worker, strong, highly skilled, extremely exciting to watch and sure seems loved by his teammates. Toni asked a question “Can?…..” Absolutely. Will he? I think it’s a well placed bet. Next season KK will be making $9M AAV. After that he will be evaluated year by year. If KK resigns,  his success will be interwoven with how far he can take the Wild towards an NHL championship. 

[OldDutchChip]

i am actually still in the camp of Kap saying he'll take his time and wait until 2026 as he is not yet ready to commit (hint hint) he'll again be somewhere in siberia this summer out of contact so this will turn into a soap opera soon enough

i won't back out of my early predictions now - i've said before - no R1 win - no signing and i think that will be the case

i just don't think 1 or 2 MM more matters to Kap and the appeal of east coast (where he can recoup that money in advertising should he need it) and winning (EC have actually made it past R1 so there's that) and cultural / community ties (many more Russians) will tip the scale in their favor (as for Cap - plenty of teams do and can make room for him, virtually ALL EC teams can)

i hope i'm wrong here.....

[Protec]

Don't get me wrong. #97 is the most well-liked, well-respected players in Wild history. His recent injury came on the back end of a record setting pace scoring. That's not really an indictment of his lack of durability. 

I wouldn't characterize a big contract for him, the same as a Parise/Suter deal. It's more the level of gun-shy from watching MN suffer consequences of such large, lengthy contracts that ended poorly. To a lesser degree but equally important, the more you invest into Kaprizov, the less money remains for upgrades elsewhere. 

Right now #97 is a top weapon for MN, with Boldy and Ek, MN is super top-heavy. The savings with Kirill, if possible would allow MN to add some pieces that takes pressure off Kaprizov and is therefore significant. The Crosby example is perfect. He took somewhat of a shave to help his team win and they did. If #97 and his agent get greedy, is it unfair or wrong? Probably not, but will it help the Wild in the bigger picture??? Only if Kaprizov finds a new, even better level to carry the team. 

I tend to look at Cup winning teams and how they're balanced, getting nice contributions down the lineup. The Leafs or Oilers from modern times have heavy cap invested into the top of their roster and it hadn't paid dividends. Close but no cigar. To me, getting Kaprizov help hinges on his number and new contract. I.e. what's left???

[Burnt Toast]

3 minutes ago, Protec said:

He took somewhat of a shave to help his team win and they did

The year the Aves won the cup Nathan Mc’s AAV was $6. something million. With how competitive and balanced the NHL is I do believe every $ counts. Having Brodin at 6 and Ek at 5.+ has got to be helping this coming year. Even KK at 9 is a steal right now. Assuming Kap comes in around $15 M AAV I am uncertain about if the Wild should add another $12+M guy or just add quality depth. 

[Protec]

That's my point. We all think Kirill is awesome. We want him to stay in MN. 

I just don't know if it's wise to put all your eggs in one basket so to speak and pay him two time more than the next big player on your team. 

Boldy was very good this playoffs. Ek has been huge for the Wild when he's healthy. He's also a center and takes a lot of abuse. 

MN needs #97, but they need a top six center who's similar to Ek and some scoring help. Probably a goalie for redundancy. That's gonna require cap/budget. 

If I were a GM, I'd wanna enter the negotiations with recency bias about injury and slow playoffs, rather than the Owner making public comments about who isn't gonna pay more. (Anyone) 😀

I mean, we could argue why an extra ~2M means so much to Kirill either. He's gonna be paid very well and can easily generate other income if that was really such a strong goal personally. If winning is so important, would he take a page from the Crosby book and agree to a nice deal but leave MN some wiggle-room to upgrade role guys or extend the top tendy, ect. 

[Patrick]

22 hours ago, Enforceror said:

Agreed. What 2M impact piece would be missing out on?

It isn't a 2 million dollar guy you lose.  Its the difference between a 7 million dollar guy and a 9.  And since the Wild are planning overpaying by 4-5 million per year (based on Rantanen, who is better in every way) , its the difference between several of those guys.  HUGE mistake if MN overpays this much because NO ONE ELSE WILL so why do it?

[OldDutchChip]

1 hour ago, Protec said:

Don't get me wrong. #97 is the most well-liked, well-respected players in Wild history. His recent injury came on the back end of a record setting pace scoring. That's not really an indictment of his lack of durability. 

I wouldn't characterize a big contract for him, the same as a Parise/Suter deal. It's more the level of gun-shy from watching MN suffer consequences of such large, lengthy contracts that ended poorly. To a lesser degree but equally important, the more you invest into Kaprizov, the less money remains for upgrades elsewhere. 

Right now #97 is a top weapon for MN, with Boldy and Ek, MN is super top-heavy. The savings with Kirill, if possible would allow MN to add some pieces that takes pressure off Kaprizov and is therefore significant. The Crosby example is perfect. He took somewhat of a shave to help his team win and they did. If #97 and his agent get greedy, is it unfair or wrong? Probably not, but will it help the Wild in the bigger picture??? Only if Kaprizov finds a new, even better level to carry the team. 

I tend to look at Cup winning teams and how they're balanced, getting nice contributions down the lineup. The Leafs or Oilers from modern times have heavy cap invested into the top of their roster and it hadn't paid dividends. Close but no cigar. To me, getting Kaprizov help hinges on his number and new contract. I.e. what's left???

i get that point but then our Leo goes out and says "i'll pay whatever" - like why say that? couldn't you have a more tactical approach or dare we suggest - work with Kap on long-term vision - then possibly approach big free agent/trade (marner, elias, trackuk, pasta) and announce (a) signing of Kap (under the go-rate at 10MM) and (b) trade/signing of one of these four players.....that takes planning - and do we have that? HELL NO. so now we are stuck with all or nothing approach with Kap. if kap hears 15-17 and then we backtrack and say - 10-12 - then he laughs at us. So we already are committed to at least 15....and no flexibility....