By Mikki Tuohy -
There is one thing that all Minnesota Wild fans can agree on: Kirill Kaprizov is the best player to come to Minnesota in the 25 years that this team has been in existence. It’s only natural that fans are worried he might jump ship because Minnesota sports teams haven’t had the best luck.
But never fear! There is plenty of evidence that Kaprizov loves the Wild and the state of Minnesota and wants to stay for the long haul.
First, let’s clarify something. There appears to be some confusion regarding the current status of Kapriozv’s contract. While it’s obviously important that the Wild re-sign Kaprizov, he still has a year left on his current contract.
He's still a member of the Wild for the 2025-26 season, but because he’s on the last year of his contract, he has been eligible to sign a contract extension since July 1. So, when people complain about getting Kaprizov to sign, just know that this isn’t a Jason Robertson missing training camp because he doesn’t have a contract sort of thing.
The fear of a star like Kaprizov leaving isn’t totally unfounded. There have been plenty of examples of promising athletes leaving smaller markets for larger ones. Artemi Panarin was itching to get to a larger, coastal city, passing through Chicago and Columbus on his way to the New York Rangers. There are many people who see the Russian connection and fear that Kaprizov will seek something similar.
However, Kaprizov didn’t grow up in Moscow. Instead, he's from a small village outside Novokuznetsk, a city that is only a quarter the size of the Twin Cities region. At his season-ending media availability, he said, “It’s easier because now I speak a little bit better English. It’s easy for me to talk with the boys. I feel more comfy, every year more and more. It’s like my home, my second home.”
Maybe I’m just too rose-colored glasses, but this doesn’t sound like a man who is actively trying to leave Minnesota. English may be his second language, but surely there would be different ways to answer this question if he were truly looking for an exit plan.
The Wild have been slowly surrounding Kaprizov with more Russian players to help him feel more comfortable. And during this off-season, he was the key to talking Vladimir Tarasenko into waiving his no-trade clause to come to Minnesota. Kaprizov seems happy to help build a winning team through his own skills and his personal connections. If he was not all-in with Minnesota, he most likely wouldn’t risk his professional image to convince other players to sign here.
A quick scroll through his Instagram page shows his love for the great outdoors, something that is easy to find in Minnesota. In fact, when Kaprizov won the Calder Trophy for the best rookie in the league in 2021, he was on a fishing trip in Siberia without internet. What better place in the United States could there be for a nature-loving, Siberian boy?
No one can predict the future, but Kaprizov clearly stated that he considers Minnesota his home. As a hockey player who lives and breathes hockey with the mentality of a fourth-line, team-playing grinder, there is no better place for him to be than the State of Hockey.
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