Can Kirill Kaprizov Become A Free-Agent Draw In Minnesota?

The Minnesota Wild proved this offseason that a team doesn't become a destination just because they can spend a bit of money. Bill Guerin might have coveted hometown players Brock Nelson and Brock Boeser, but they didn't feel the same pull as Zach Parise and Ryan Suter did to return to Minnesota. As for top free agents like Mitch Marner, Sam Bennett, and John Tavares, well, the Wild weren't in any sort of consideration.

Historically speaking, the Wild have little sway with free agents who lack roots in the State of Hockey or attended college in Minnesota. Of their major free-agent signings, Martin Havlat, Brian Rolston, and Mats Zuccarello are the only players who don't fit those parameters.

The reason why is simple: They don't have a draw.

If a free agent's priority is winning, then a team that hasn't won a playoff round in a decade isn't gonna be a destination. The Twin Cities aren't going to compare to living in a city like New York, Chicago, or Vancouver. The Wild don't have the history of the Philadelphia Flyers or Boston Bruins. St. Paul doesn't have the nice weather and no state tax selling point combo that the Dallas Stars, Vegas Golden Knights, Nashville Predators, and the Florida teams have leveraged in recent years.

So, as much as it doesn't sound like a big deal, Vladimir Tarasenko waiving his no-trade clause to accept a trade to the Wild is a beacon of hope.

While Tarasenko isn't at the height of his powers, that hasn't stopped anyone from spurning the Wild in the past. Just before his age-32 season, Phil Kessel famously rejected a trade to the Wild... in favor of the Arizona Coyotes! And Kessel was a Golden Gopher!

Granted, Kessel chose Arizona partly to play under coach Rick Tocchet... but still, that one stings. 

But, hey, that was under Paul Fenton's notoriously rocky 14-month stint at GM. That's comforting until you realize that even under Guerin's much more stable, successful tenure, the Wild aren't exactly a draw. Patrik Laine, coming off an injury-plagued season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, is also believed to have rejected a trade to Minnesota last season. 

Maybe Tarasenko was willing to get a fresh start anywhere after a rough season in Detroit, regardless of who was or wasn't in Minnesota. But when asked about what intrigued him about Minnesota, Tarasenko made it clear: Kirill Kaprizov's evangelism. "I heard a lot of good things from Kirill," Tarasenko explained. "Obviously, I talked to him about the team and the group."

When we talk about how the Wild haven't had a true superstar before Kaprizov, we tend to focus on the on-ice aspect. And yeah, ultimately, the goals, assists, and brilliant plays are what win games. But this is, as far as we know, the first time Wild fans have seen Kaprizov wield superstar-level influence over a player looking for a change of scenery.

The opportunity to play with top players is a legitimate draw for free agents. As cap-strapped as the Edmonton Oilers were last summer, they were able to re-sign Adam Henrique and then add free agents Viktor Arvidsson, Jeff Skinner, and Corey Perry to below-market contracts. The pull to play with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl is that strong. This offseason, Tavares signed a deal with a $4.38 AAV following a 38-goal season to keep playing with Auston Matthews. Marner took below-market value to go play with Jack Eichel in Vegas.

Kaprizov doesn't have McDavid, Draisaitl, and Eichel's playoff success, or Matthews' MVP pedigree. Still, he was running away as the consensus Hart Trophy favorite before getting injured. It would not be shocking to see him in the mix in the annual "Best Winger in the NHL" discussions once we get to the most boring part of the offseason.

It feels like he's close to that status, and if Tarasenko is any indication, he might already have it with his countrymen.

"I've talked to him before a few times [when] we've had the chance to be in the same company," said Tarasenko of his relationship with Kaprizov. "I know him as a very good person, very good to be around, and I'm very happy to be joining a team where he plays."

St. Paul might become something of the NHL's Borscht Belt next season. Rookie Danila Yurov and fourth-liner Yakov Trenin will join Kaprizov and Tarasenko. Given that Kaprizov tends to skate opposite Mats Zuccarello and Matt Boldy, it's not likely that Kaprizov, Yurov, and Tarasenko would end up on the same line... but you never know. And if Minnesota starts looking like CSKA Moscow, wouldn't word get out? Could Kaprizov serve as an unofficial recruiter to build a Russian Superfriends?

Perhaps, but there are two significant barriers in the short term. Looking at the 2026 UFA class, there are a few high-profile Russians -- maybe you've heard of Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Artemi Panarin. Among them, though, three of them feel like locks to either retire to the KHL or finish their career with their team. As for Panarin, while he shares an agent with Kaprizov and Tarasenko, it seems likely that the New York Rangers would have to move on for him to leave.

The other is that these players don't get to play together the same way that Americans, Canadians, Swedes, Finns, or even, like, the Swiss do. Russia has been barred from international play since 2022. No Olympics, no 4 Nations Faceoff, no World Championships. Kaprizov hasn't played in an international tournament since Worlds 2019, before he stepped foot in the NHL. That's a lot of opportunities to discuss life in Minnesota that just... disappeared.

At the very least, we know that Kaprizov had some influence on Tarasenko, and he used it. Will that work out? It almost doesn't matter. Teams with stars that draw in players on below-market deals don't bat 1.000. If they do it enough times, though, it tends to work out (please don't look at the Maple Leafs playoff history). If Kaprizov can consistently bring in players with his superstar gravity, that's a very big step for a Wild team that has lacked a true selling point for free agents.