Rumor: Kirill Kaprizov is on his way to Minnesota.

Recent report may be a positive sign for the Wild.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 2 years ago
Rumor: Kirill Kaprizov is on his way to Minnesota.
David Berding/Getty Images

If you're a fan of the Minnesota Wild that has been eagerly awaiting the signing of rookie sensation and Calder Trophy winner Kirill Kaprizov, the last several weeks and months have no doubt been a frustrating experience for you.

In spite of the fact that Kaprizov established himself as a near irreplaceable piece of the Minnesota Wild's future during the 2020 - 2021 NHL regular season, a new contract has yet to materialize in the offseason. In fact nearly all the reports regarding the ongoing negotiations between Kaprizov's camp and the team, who is represented by Wild general manager Bill Guerin, have largely been negative, even going so far as to include a potential ultimatum of Kaprizov playing in the Kontinental Hockey League should the two sides fail to reach a deal.

On his most recent podcast,  Minnesota Wild insider Mike Russo hinted at the fact that many National Hockey League general managers would have thrown in the towel at this point, perhaps a sign that the Kaprizov camp has been unreasonable in its demands. Regardless of whether or not that is the case, it sounds like we may finally have some good news.

Although this report will be classified as a rumor, given that at this time there is only one source for this information, news out of Russia now appears to indicate that Kaprizov is on his way to Minnesota. In an article published on Sports.ru, former high ranking KHL official Leonid Vaysfeld has indicated that Kaprizov and the Wild are now in the final stages of negotiation and that the deal is close enough to being made a reality that the young forward is headed to Minnesota to prepare for training camp.

"As far as I understand, there were no disagreements on the amount at all initially," said Vaysfeld in the report. "It's just that Minnesota wanted to sign a long-term contract for eight years at once, and Kirill wanted a shorter one, three years, so that he could enter the free agent market earlier. In the end, they found a compromise."

That compromise, again according to Vaysfeld, is the much talked about 5 year deal that will see Kaprizov earning an average annual value and cap hit of $9 million per season, good for a total of $45 million over the full length of the contract.

Keep in mind that it is still not official at this time, but this has to be considered excellent news for Wild fans.

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