The Minnesota Wild’s general manager, Bill Guerin, has reassured fans following reports about Kirill Kaprizov’s refusal of a record contract extension. Kaprizov, currently in the last year of his five-year, $45 million contract, rejected an eight-year extension offer for $128 million, according to reports. The offer, with an average annual value of $16 million, would have surpassed the contract of Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers and that of Alex Ovechkin with the Washington Capitals.
Since his arrival in the NHL in 2020, Kaprizov has been an offensive force for Minnesota, accumulating 386 points in 319 games. In the past season, shortened by injuries, he scored 25 goals in 41 games. Kaprizov’s agent, Paul Theofanous, has not commented on the matter. Guerin expressed his desire to avoid panic among the fans and emphasized Kaprizov’s importance to the team.My role as general manager is to protect our players. I know two things. That information didn’t come from us, and it didn’t come from Kirill’s agent. I don’t know where it came from. Kirill’s agent and I have a very good relationship. We are working on things. We are not going to let things like this get in the way.
Bill Guerin, General Manager of the Minnesota Wild
Guerin stated that conversations with Kaprizov will continue and that the team is in a positive position with the player.I don’t want our market to go into total panic here. The most important thing for me is Kirill and not to put him in a bad situation. We love him. He’s a wonderful guy. He’s an incredible player. And we want him.
Bill Guerin, General Manager of the Minnesota Wild
