Three Contending Teams Could Target Kaprizov If He Doesn't Extend In Minnesota

the two florida trade packages sound enticing if Kaprizov won't sign.

I think it is important to figure out two scenarios: 

1. Star for star: both willing to re-sign with the new teams.

2. Kaprizov for prospects and picks: push for higher quality if he re-signs.

My biggest worry is anyone willing to sign with the Wild long term.  Guerin giving up his best asset should amount to something viable coming back long term.  If he has an assurance a star player or some prized prospect isn't gonna just go, "Minnesota? Fuck you!" and walk, it sure makes things easier.

A Gaborik situation is just about the worst thing.  At least Burns got us Coyle for a couple seasons.

7 minutes ago, Citizen Strife said:

I think it is important to figure out two scenarios: 

1. Star for star: both willing to re-sign with the new teams.

2. Kaprizov for prospects and picks: push for higher quality if he re-signs.

My biggest worry is anyone willing to sign with the Wild long term.  Guerin giving up his best asset should amount to something viable coming back long term.  If he has an assurance a star player or some prized prospect isn't gonna just go, "Minnesota? Fuck you!" and walk, it sure makes things easier.

A Gaborik situation is just about the worst thing.  At least Burns got us Coyle for a couple seasons.

 

 

 

Just now, Lovehockey said:

 

If both Florida teams will be serious about getting Kaprizov I think he will not be resigning with Wild 

#depressing

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Makar will be the greatest Wild defenseman since Brent Burns. Makar mentoring Buium and Faber will do wonders. 

Makar is far better than Brent Burns. Through age 25, Burns had 183 points in 452 games. Makar has 336 points in 315 career games through age 25.

That trade isn't going to happen, but he would immediately become the best defenseman in team history if it did. Buium has incredible potential and might be in that discussion someday.

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arget: Sam Reinhart package 

Most likely 

By offering Kaprizov, the Wild can trade for a bargain contract in Reinhart with no trade protection, allowing them to sign more free agents if prospects don't pan out. The Wild should target Kyle Connor ($7.142 million) and old friend Alex Tuch ($4.75 million), who are on expiring deals, especially with Marcus Johansson ($2 million) and Mats Zuccarello ($4.125 million) becoming free agents. Connor and Tuch expire once Kaprizov and Zuccarello expire in 2026-27. 

Reinhart carries a cap hit of $8.625 million until 2031-32. He’s a year older than Kaprizov, 27, and is in his prime. Reinhart may regress next season, but he can still be a reliable top-line two-way producer on a Cup contender. Reinhart scored 50 (57) goals before Kaprizov. Can Reinhart continue to be a 50-goal scorer? 

Reinhart has a full No Movement Clause through June of 2030.

Hagel isn't close to Kaprizov and Tampa has less than $800k in cap space to take on a larger contract.  None of these are going to happen.

If Kap and Kucherov want to play together, Guerin should put a package together to get Kucherov up here. Would have to be hell of a package, but Tampa is tapped out on salary for the foreseeable future ($60M committed to just 7 players starting next year), have one of the worst prospect pools in the league, and are thin on draft picks in next few years. I think the Wild have the pieces to offer to at least make Tampa think hard about it...

Would be hard to see a player like Kirill go somewhere else.  Would much rather see us peg another high profile player or 2 and see how far we get.

3 hours ago, Lern2spell said:

If Kap and Kucherov want to play together, Guerin should put a package together to get Kucherov up here. Would have to be hell of a package, but Tampa is tapped out on salary for the foreseeable future ($60M committed to just 7 players starting next year), have one of the worst prospect pools in the league, and are thin on draft picks in next few years. I think the Wild have the pieces to offer to at least make Tampa think hard about it...

This is interesting.  I wonder what lot of prospects and one player that might start a conversation 

I don’t see any chance that any of this happens with these teams. Theres not even a point in putting Makar in there, it’s absolutely ridiculous. We will likely not get what he is worth in return because we don’t have a lot of leverage if he actually wants to leave (if he’s being shopped it’s obvious he won’t be staying). He will get to choose who he’s being traded to or at least have a say.

I see a 1st, a high quality prospect and a decent player. You have to factor in that Kap is going to be extremely expensive and I don’t see these teams being able to handle his cap hit unless his new contract is somehow team friendly because he wants to win. Do people actually think we are going to get a return like this for a player that’s going to leave regardless in this situation? I could see Buffalo potentially being a good trading partner because they are loaded with prospects and I genuinely think they’re going to be very very competitive when all their young players come into their prime which will be in 2-3 years. Problem is I don’t see Kap wanting to play there.

Ideally a good trade partner would be with a team that has extremely talented young players on a team that just needs a few more years to get the experience they need to make a deep run. If it’s one of these young teams it would benefit us a lot more in my opinion. I don’t see these high caliber teams trading any of the players that had the biggest impact in getting them to the cup or making a deep playoff run.

Give Kaprizov his captaincy, consult him on next path for franchise (Leo, not Billy). Give him commercials and market him and also market FOR him. Get fans to sell him to MN. Be smart. There is nothing out there that will equate to Kap. we need him, not the other way around!

Why would you even suggest Makar is available? Does anyone prove read this? Do we want to say Draisaitl or Matthew’s is too?  Avs won’t give Makar!

If Kap is traded, move the entire damn team to some Canadian wilderness and start over,.

5 hours ago, Citizen Strife said:

1. Star for star: both willing to re-sign with the new teams.

How are we getting a star if we have no leverage and Kap has a NMC? Basically he has all the leverage. If teams know we are trying to trade him, then they know he isn’t going to resign here. So that really doesn’t give us much leverage at all. We are getting far less worth for Kap coming back.

3 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Reinhart has a full No Movement Clause through June of 2030.

Hagel isn't close to Kaprizov and Tampa has less than $800k in cap space to take on a larger contract.  None of these are going to happen.

Exactly. This article isn’t well researched and it’s kind of silly. These are the most unlikely trades that would happen.

if we are trading Kap, that means that all the other teams know he isn’t resigning and the Wild are just trying to get something back for him. We have very little leverage so the return isn’t going to be anywhere near what he’s actually worth.

Desperate GMs being stupid and paying more during the deadline maybe?  If Kap says he will only go to 1-2 rather than 5-10 places, then that does dramatically lower the return as you said.

3 hours ago, Lern2spell said:

If Kap and Kucherov want to play together, Guerin should put a package together to get Kucherov up here. Would have to be hell of a package, but Tampa is tapped out on salary for the foreseeable future ($60M committed to just 7 players starting next year), have one of the worst prospect pools in the league, and are thin on draft picks in next few years. I think the Wild have the pieces to offer to at least make Tampa think hard about it...

That will never happen. Kuch isn’t going anywhere. He’s also 31 so I don’t think he has a ton of years left before he starts declining. He’s also playing with incredible linemates so it’s highly unlikely he produces at the same level.

1 hour ago, Mateo3xm said:

That will never happen. Kuch isn’t going anywhere. He’s also 31 so I don’t think he has a ton of years left before he starts declining. He’s also playing with incredible linemates so it’s highly unlikely he produces at the same level.

They said the same thing about Stamkos not too long ago, then he walked. They won't let that happen again. Except, the incredible linemates you speak of are all younger than Kucherov, and are due raises at or about the same time as him. They traded away picks and prospects, went on an incredible cup run for a few years, but now the cupboards are bare on their prospect side of things, and they don't have a lot of high draft picks in the near future. They cant have seven players making 8 figures, something will have to give. Wild have some talent that can play with him...

Billy got a generational talent and wasted his time worrying about bottom six guys over top 6. None of his prospects will ever touch kappy s talent.  Such a waste of talent and time. Go Freddy g 

Billy can’t run a front office, manage a checkbook or does it seem like he’s ever held to account in his post player career. He takes credit for others work and makes excuses for his own. Just like his players. Instead of holding players accountable for laziness or bad play he rewards them with raises , more opportunities an ice time. Just oozes winning culture. 
   If he loses kappy to his utter incompetence than Billy is a loser gm . Simple as that. So what if kappy was always going to leave excuses. You had him and did nothing with him on the ice. Craig did though. He sold a lot of jerseys and might get the taxpayers to fund his billionaire hobby. Get the taxpayers to renovate the excel so you can jack the prices on them. Billy and Craig seem like two peas in a pod. Grifters 

Yes, because Kaprizov would have loved tearing the team completely down to the nuts and bolts and started from scratch.  

6 hours ago, OldDutchChip said:

Kap is traded

The pain! The pain! The Wild finally come to the end of record breaking $$ contract buyouts. Record breaking 13 year contracts. Now with the Best Record Breaking Player in franchise history. Only to see another team pull a rabbit out of their Hat (Trick) and make him disappear? Say it’s not so!! I’ve racked my brain, how could this happen? And I can only hold one person responsible…. OLD DUTCH CHIP! Only days ago you were posting about this very topic… Kap is gone. Your spark has become a FOREST FIRE of controversy. It might be too late to turn back the Karmatic Tsunami you’ve put into motion. I hope you can turn the tide back or I will dub thee Mr. Pringles. I WANT MY HAPPY ENDING! P.S. Your latest post is a good start. 

I can see what Kalisha is saying, and I do wish she'd get on the comments and defend her position. This would be a really good article to do it on.

Now, from the logic I can think of, "Target" is not the trade package. Target is the main person in the trade much like in the Tkachuk deal Calgary got 2 decent pieces in Huberdeau and Weegar. But that wasn't everything either.

In the above case, Huberdeau would be considered the target. Weegar was also a necessary part of the deal, but not the headline. 

So, when we talk about Reinhart, he is the headline player, but there will be more. With any contending team, they are spending to the cap. It will have to be money in money out for Kaprizov's current deal. Calgary got Huberdeau and Weegar to sign longterm. 

What would Tampa have to give us in terms of money in? Does Guerin have to retain? We'd at least have to cover their salary (the longterm deal is their problem). I would consider Tampa starting to age out. I don't know that Kaprizov would be there for long before he sees everyone retiring. 

I liked what Mateo was saying, and he is absolutely right, finding a team like that would be best for us. However, that is not the kind of team that Kaprizov would be looking for. He wants to be on a contender. The Buffalo example is a perfect example of why would you move? Our prospect pool is pretty good too. I think he'd stand just as good of a chance winning here than in Buffalo. 

Same thing with the other up and coming teams. Where could he flourish? I can't remember who mentioned NYR some time ago. They are young and coming. That is someplace I could see looking attractive to him from a hockey stand point. I think if you're Guerin, you hope you can send him to an Eastern Conference team. New Jersey is also a pretty loaded young team at this point. 

I doubt that the Wild have this year to impress Kaprizov. I do think they need to be showing him what's coming. 2 rookies come in this year, and those aren't the best coming up. Next season likely sees difference makers in all 3 units, goalie, defense, forward and those are the difference makers. I think the '25-26 season will be the impressive one. 

I also liked ODC's effort. Those are things not everyone thinks about. I'm not sure on the captaincy part, but everyone knows where I stand on that topic. Do the non-ice things to get him a little more invested in here. Not everything is a business decision. Sometimes, being invested in a community that feels like home is a pretty important priority. 

8 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

I think if you're Guerin, you hope you can send him to an Eastern Conference team.

When Fiala went to the Kings Guerin was questioned about trading Fiala in the Western Conference. His response was "Why should I limit myself to trading with only half the league"? Which I actually agree with. He may think differently with Kaprizov however because he never really respected Fiala's talent whereas he does with Kaprizov. But if he winds up having to trade Kaprizov Guerin is most likely out the door right behind him and Guerin could put Kaprizov right next door in Chicago as his last official act of defiance. 🤣 

Kaprizov don't like the camera enough to do Kwik Trip commercials or anything of the like. He's not interested in marketing or being the public face of the team. You don't think Kaprizov has not been approached by every car dealership or gas station and grocery store franchise in Minnesota to shill for them already? Another indication that money is not his top priority. And money is really the only leverage Guerin has to keep him here. 

1 hour ago, MacGyver said:

Kaprizov don't like the camera enough to do Kwik Trip commercials or anything of the like. He's not interested in marketing or being the public face of the team. You don't think Kaprizov has not been approached by every car dealership or gas station and grocery store franchise in Minnesota to shill for them already? Another indication that money is not his top priority. And money is really the only leverage Guerin has to keep him here. 

This was precisely my point in why I didn't think that Kaprizov would be the Kaptain, and why I didn't see him moving to a big city. All of the above would be requirements for him. I think he likes being in a mid market that acts like a big hockey market. Miami might be too big for him. Tampa probably not. NYR too big, Jersey too big. I could see him enjoying Denver. 

But, Colorado and Tampa, in Kalisha's article, are on the back 9 of their window. If Kaprizov likes winning so much, maybe he becomes a hockey mercenary?

11 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

why I didn't see him moving to a big city. All of the above would be requirements for him.

I'm not sure the big city markets come with a "requirement" that you participate in marketing campaigns for any entity. That is a players decision I would think. There are usually other high profile players willing to fill those roles in the large markets. 

I have said all along Kaprizov didn't choose to come to Minnesota it was his only way to get into the NHL. He came to the NHL for one reason only, to get his name on the Cup. I don't think he cares who he does it with but I do think he wants to secure that goal sooner rather than later. How he views where this team is positioned to help him do that we don't know. He is in for another mediocre to tough year again next year and I think he knows that.