Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov reportedly has an agreement in place with his former team in the KHL if he is unable to come to terms on a new contract with the Wild.
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that Kaprizov has reached a one-year, “eight-figure” deal with CSKA Moscow. The deal is contingent on Kaprizov not signing with the Wild and would begin on Sept. 1.
Seravalli also reports that the hangup between the two sides was caused by the Wild’s desire to reach a seven or eight-year deal with Kaprizov while he would like to reach a short-term contract.
While the Wild have reportedly softened their stance, Kaprizov’s camp told Seravalli they have not received an offer from the team since April.
The Kaprizov drama has been another chapter in a turbulent offseason for the Wild. Although they signed Joel Erikkson Ek to an eight-year extension, the Wild put themselves in cap purgatory with the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter.
After a quiet free agency period, the Wild have continued to negotiate contracts with Kaprizov and Kevin Fiala but neither has reached a deal.
Kaprizov is coming off an electric rookie season for the Wild scoring 27 goals and 51 points on his way to winning the Calder Trophy. While Kaprizov played in one season he is an exclusive rights free agent without a contract for the 2021-22 season.
The Sept. 1 start date on the reported contract poses an unofficial deadline for the two sides to get a deal done. While Saravelli reports that Kaprizov’s camp is in communication with the Wild, it will be interesting if the negotiations take a positive turn.
