The Minnesota Wild have made a thunderous statement to the hockey world, locking in superstar left wing Kirill Kaprizov with a record-shattering eight-year, $136 million contract extension that will keep him in St. Paul through the 2033-34 NHL season. The deal, announced Tuesday, September 30, 2025, by general manager Bill Guerin, not only cements Kaprizov as the face of the franchise but also establishes a new bar for player compensation across the league.
Kaprizov’s contract, averaging $17 million per year, breaks the previous NHL records for both total value and average annual value (AAV), surpassing the likes of Washington Capitals legend Alex Ovechkin ($124 million) and Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl ($14 million AAV). It’s a massive leap, and one that’s sending shockwaves through front offices and locker rooms league-wide.
"We never wanted to entertain Kirill not being here," Guerin declared, making it clear that the Wild were determined to keep their superstar for the long haul. The extension includes hefty signing bonuses in its first four years and will kick in for the 2026-27 season, with Kaprizov playing out the final year of his current five-year, $45 million deal in 2025-26. According to sources cited by ESPN, Kaprizov had previously turned down an eight-year, $128 million offer, holding out for the historic payday he ultimately secured.
The timing of the deal is significant. With the NHL and NHLPA announcing salary cap increases for the next three seasons, teams are finding themselves with more financial flexibility. The 2025 salary cap introduced a floor of $70.6 million and a ceiling of $95.5 million, and Kaprizov’s $17 million AAV represents just under 20% of the maximum cap. The cap is expected to rise annually throughout the term of Kaprizov’s contract, so while the figure looks astronomical now, it may not seem quite so enormous in a few years’ time.
For the Wild, securing Kaprizov’s future was about more than just keeping a top scorer on the roster. The 28-year-old Russian winger has already etched his name into Minnesota’s record books. In five seasons and 319 games with the Wild, Kaprizov has racked up 185 goals (fourth in franchise history) and 386 points (fifth all-time), and his 1.21 points-per-game average is the highest in team history. He’s the only player in franchise history with multiple 40-goal seasons and holds single-season franchise records for points (108), goals (47), and power-play goals (19).
Kaprizov’s impact was immediate. Drafted in the fifth round back in 2015, he burst onto the scene during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season, capturing the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year with 27 goals and 24 assists in just 56 games. He quickly became known as “Kirill the Thrill,” dazzling fans with his electrifying play and knack for highlight-reel goals. The following year, he set the franchise points record with 108 and continued to build his legacy as one of the most dynamic wingers in the NHL.
Last season, Kaprizov was limited to 41 games due to lower-body injuries that began to take their toll after December 23, 2024. Despite missing significant time, he still managed 25 goals, 31 assists, and a plus-19 rating, finishing third on the team with 56 points. The Wild struggled without their superstar, posting a 24-20-3 record in his absence. That stretch underscored just how vital Kaprizov is to Minnesota’s fortunes.
"Now it’s all done and we just start playing and we don’t think about this," Kaprizov said, expressing relief that the contract saga was finally over. For owner Craig Leipold, the deal was a no-brainer. Leipold had made several public comments in recent months projecting supreme confidence that the Wild could offer a richer package than any other NHL team. He was right—no one else came close.
This extension will also go down in history for another reason: it’s likely to be one of the last of its kind. The NHL’s new collective bargaining agreement will soon limit players re-signing with their own teams to a maximum of seven years, and free agents to six. Kaprizov’s eight-year deal is a relic of a soon-to-be-bygone era, making it even more significant in the context of league history.
For context, the previous longest and richest contracts in Wild history went to Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, who each signed 13-year, $98 million deals back on July 4, 2012. But neither reached the financial heights of Kaprizov’s extension, and neither had the same transformative effect on the franchise’s identity.
Kaprizov’s contract is already sending ripples through the NHL’s ecosystem. Several high-profile stars, including Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, Vegas’s Mitch Marner, and New York’s Artemi Panarin, are set to become unrestricted free agents in the next couple of seasons. McDavid, in particular, is entering the final year of his contract and could hit the open market on July 1, 2026. There’s little doubt that Kaprizov’s $17 million AAV will serve as a new benchmark for negotiations, raising the price for every elite talent looking to cash in.
For the Wild, the hope is that Kaprizov’s presence will finally help them break through in the postseason. Minnesota has gone 10 straight seasons without a playoff series win, the fourth-longest active drought in the NHL behind only Buffalo, Detroit, and Los Angeles. The franchise and its fan base are hungry for more than regular-season heroics—they’re desperate for a deep playoff run, and Kaprizov’s extension is a clear sign that the organization is all-in on chasing that elusive success.
As the dust settles, the rest of the league is left to ponder what comes next. Will McDavid’s next deal blow past Kaprizov’s record? Can the Wild build a championship-caliber roster around their newly minted superstar? Only time will tell, but for now, Minnesota fans can breathe easy knowing that “Kirill the Thrill” isn’t going anywhere.
With the market reset and the salary cap on the rise, expect a flurry of activity as other teams and players react to this seismic shift. But one thing’s for sure: the Wild have made their intentions clear, and the rest of the NHL is officially on notice.
