The latest on the contentious Kirill Kaprizov negotiations.

Negotiations do not appear to be going smoothly.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 2 years ago
The latest on the contentious Kirill Kaprizov negotiations.
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In spite of the fact that the Minnesota Wild are clearly very interested in keeping rookie sensation Kirill Kaprizov within the Wild organization for the foreseeable future, negotiations with the blossoming young star have not gone the way many would have hoped for over the course of this offseason.

Kaprizov, who turned 24 years old this past April, is coming off a spectacular debut season in the NHL, one in which he recorded a whopping 27 goals and 24 assists for 51 points in just 55 games. As a result the young Russian is now looking to get paid in a major way, but it seems his goals are not necessarily aligned with those of the Wild. There has been talk that Kaprizov is only interested in signing a relatively short term deal that would allow him to walk to unrestricted free agency in just 3 years, while the Wild on the other hand would be much more interested in signing him on a long term deal.

On his most recent podcast Minnesota Wild insider Mike Russo shared his latest insights into the contentious negotiations between Kaprizov's camp and Wild general manager Bill Guerin, and it sounds like there may be some real frustration brewing behind the scenes.

"The team has been really patient with this," said Russo on his podcast. "I will tell you what, a lesser GM might just pull the contract altogether at this point."

Of course Russo acknowledged that after buying out the likes of both Ryan Suter and Zach Parise during the offseason that the Wild are not really in a position to make that kind of a move, even if they might want to.

"Obviously the Wild aren't in the position to do it, cause they can't go into the season and say 'we're gonna just suck" and obviously Kaprizov is a game changer with this organization. I just can't believe it's not done now."

Even more bizarre perhaps though is the fact that Russo believes some key aspects of these negotiations have not even begun.

"What's concerning to me is they really haven't, as far as I understand it, discussed the structure yet," said Russo. "The structure is gonna be difficult because... there are high escrow years here the next couple of years because the owners need to be reimbursed a ton of money... The Wild are gonna have to sit there and work with Kaprizov to make sure that they severely backload this contract up until the structure that you are allowed."

It feels like something has to give in these negotiations and has to give soon if Kaprizov is expected to start training camp on time with his fellow teammates, unfortunately for fans in Minnesota however there seems to be no indication that it will be happening anytime soon.

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