Forward can become unrestricted free agent after season

© David Berding/Getty Images

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Kirill Kaprizov said there is plenty of time to negotiate a new contract that will keep him with the Minnesota Wild.

For now, he is focused on the 2025-26 season.

“You guys know I like Minny and everyone knows this,” Kaprizov said Thursday after the first on-ice session of training camp. “We have a lot of time [to sign]. It’s just 2025 and it’s one more year I have. I just want to play hockey and focus and win some games and go into [the Stanley Cup] Playoffs] and win there. Just focus on this now.”

The 28-year-old forward is entering the final season of a five-year, $45 million contract (average annual value of $9 million) he signed Sept. 21, 2021. He has been eligible to sign an eight-year contract with Minnesota since July 1, which has been “priority No. 1,” according to general manager Bill Guerin.

Kaprizov can become an unrestricted free agent July 1, 2026.

“It’s my job to just focus on hockey and the camp right now,” Kaprizov said. “I just want to be practicing. We have a lot of time. Just want to practice and get ready for the season.

“My agent (Paul Theofanous) talks with Billy and the team. It’s not my job right now. I just want to be focused and be ready for the season and keep playing and that’s it.

According to multiple reports, Kaprizov turned down an eight-year, $128 million contract offer from the Wild that would make him the highest-paid player in the NHL. Kaprizov didn’t speak about that offer.

“These negotiations are private,” Guerin said Thursday. “I can’t really get into it. Things are fine. The most important thing is that we want to sign Kirill. He’s our franchise player. We want to keep him here. He’s a big part of our team. We’re working toward that. We’re doing the best we can. Hopefully we’ll get there sooner than later.”

Kaprizov led the Wild last season with a plus-19 rating and finished second in goals (25) and third in points (56) despite playing 41 games because of an injury that sidelined him for much of the second half. He returned April 9 and had four points (two goals, two assists) in the final four regular-season games and nine points (five goals, four assists) in six playoff games.

Minnesota (45-30-7) was the first wild card in the Western Conference and lost the first round in six games to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Kaprizov said he is 100 percent heading into this season.

“Just stay healthy and should be everything good,” he said.

Selected by the Wild in the fifth round (No. 135) of the 2015 NHL Draft, Kaprizov has led the Wild in points in four of his five seasons and won the 2021 Calder Trophy voted as the League’s best rookie. He has 386 points (15th in the NHL), and 185 goals (tied for eighth) in 319 games since joining the League.

“There’s two ways you could look at it,” Guerin said. “We could be confident and upbeat about it, or we could just come out and say, ‘Oh no.’ What else are we going to say? We know Krill, we like Kirill. He’s a great player. Why wouldn’t we be confident. It’s been a great relationship, so I mean, yeah, we love the kid.”