NHL Rumor: Minnesota Wild and Kirill Kaprizov

Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas present 32 Thoughts: The Podcast’s Sixty-Six Million Reasons to Stay episode.
Bukauskas: “Minnesota appears to be having an exciting season as well, don’t you agree Elliotte? Kirill Kaprizov will become eligible for extension next summer; last week owner Craig Leopold made public statements that no other team can match Minnesota in offering Kirill more money and longer contracts than what will be made available from them if his eligibility comes up again – what was your reaction when Leopold made those remarks about Kirill Kaprizov?”
Friedman: “After reading those quotes from Kyle Draisaitl’s statement about himself signing for Edmonton this season, it occurred to me that this story may soon become one of the top stories in NHL this season. After all, for how long had people debated Draisaitl and Austin Matthews before signing. Look at what’s happened so far with Mitch Marner.”
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Due to star players rarely moving between teams in this league, any time there appears to be any possibility they might consider moving, people become obsessed and can’t get enough.
And so I enjoyed Craig Leopold’s quotes; they seemed extremely candid and true – an insight which speaks to where Minnesota stands both now and heading into next summer with regards to results this season; having these statements out there means there will likely be an ongoing Kaprizov watch as these continue to come out.
Mark Lazarus of The Athletic made a rather offhand comment regarding Chicago and then had to backpedal as it got heated online – you forget how quickly predictions can spread virally across social media, leading to scornful responses that scorch you all over.
But Minnesota, too, are on notice; no need for me to inform them otherwise! Kirill Kaprizov must see them as worthy partners or else his contract could end abruptly.
And you could always move onto next season if that suits your fancy. There’s lots of potential outcomes here and my notes indicate this could go any number of directions – though for my part, just keep an eye out on Wild and Kaprizov, because their actions put everyone else on notice as well.
Matt Boldy may have been injured. What I found encouraging was seeing some of their young players, like Liam Ohgren and Marco Rossi have good camps so far despite it still being early; those players will need to continue making strides if the Wild are going to convince Kaprizov and even Jesper Wallstedt (goalie) that this team should remain their home – I will therefore keep an eye out on these youngsters just as closely as on results.
Bukauskas added, “And this year marks the final season in which Minnesota will pay that significant cap penalty related to (Zach Parise’s and Ryan Suter’s buyouts. Right?”
Friedman replied in the affirmative. Bukauskas stated, “Currently the Dead Cap total stands at over $15 Million but is expected to decline down to just under $1.7 next season, providing Bill Guerin and company with greater flexibility when adding roster-wise players like Kaprizov who may ultimately sign a long term deal as it appears that is what the team desires.”
But you are spot-on when you say this is an important time for them, after missing the playoffs last year and experiencing such disappointment as Kaprizov does in that they fell just short. So there is added pressure for success as well, to show Kaprizov why this team will give him his best shot at success and convince him he wants to play there and thus increase chances for victory in 2014.
NHL Rumors: Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brad Treliving was very candid in discussing Mitch Marner Friedman. Treliving stated, ‘That will definitely be part of their pitch to him – no longer handcuffs nor restrictions imposed despite having given money directly back into their coffers from Marner.”