Wild GM Bill Guerin downplays rumors about Kirill Kaprizov's contract

Bill Guerin is taking the first step to put an end to rumors regarding contract talks with his star forward.

The Minnesota Wild GM noted on the 10,000 Takes podcast on Wednesday that he doesn't know where the rumors that Kirill Kaprizov turned down a historic extension originated from.

Frank Seravalli, a hockey expert, said on Wednesday that the Wild star turned down an offer for an eight-year, $128 million agreement.

"We can get right to the point. Guerin stated concerning the report, "I don't know where this stuff comes from." "I know two things: the information didn't come from us, and it didn't come from Kirill's agency. I don't know where it came from.

"I get along quite well with his agent. We won't let stuff like this stop us. I still think Kirill is doing incredibly well, and as I stated, one of my jobs is to keep him safe. So we're going to let this go. "We just move on."

The deal would have been the most valuable in NHL history, with an average annual value of $16 million and total revenues.

He has one more year left on his five-year, $45 million contract, and he can become a free agent in 2026. Since July 1, he has been able to sign an extension.

Craig Leipold, the owner of the Wild, said at a ceremony last week where the name of the team's new home stadium was revealed that he doesn't think "we're that far off." He also indicated that he thinks Kaprizov will re-sign and not test free agency next summer.

Kaprizov has only played in the NHL for five seasons, yet he is already one of the league's best goal scorers. He has scored more than 40 goals three times and has been a point-per-game player in all but one of his NHL seasons. He won the Calder Trophy after his first season in 2020–21.

The Russian was hurt last season and could only play in 41 games, but he made the most of it by scoring 25 goals and setting a career-high shooting percentage of 17.2.

In the 2021–22 season, which was only his second year in the NHL, he scored a career-high 108 points (47 goals and 61 assists).

The three-time all-star was picked 135th overall in the 2015 NHL Draft. Before coming to North America, he played in the KHL for five years.