If he has concerns about keeping the most dynamic player in 25 years of Minnesota Wild history, team owner Craig Leipold didn’t show them this week. He was practically beaming as he met with reporters at Grand Casino Arena on Wednesday shortly after the home rink’s new name and logo were unveiled.
“OK, I’ve got Kirill’s contract in my pocket here,” Leipold joked.
Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold speaks during a event celebrating the sponsorship and name change of the former Xcel Energy Center to Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Kaprizov’s next contract, whether it’s with the Wild or elsewhere, will be anything but a joke.
The Wild’s leading scorer since he joined the team out of Russia’s KHL in 2020-21, Kaprizov can become a NHL free agent next July 1. Until then, the Wild have exclusive rights to negotiate with him. After pledging last September that no team would offer Kaprizov a longer or more lucrative contract, Leipold doubled down on what the Wild are prepared to do to keep him.
“This will be a huge deal,” he said. “Likely the biggest deal in the NHL, ever.”
Kaprizov’s current deal — $9 million a season for five years — is the biggest annual payout in Wild history. His next deal could be worth $15 million annually, or more, for the eight years. A year ago, Edmonton star forward Leon Draisaitl — a key player in the Oilers’ back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Final — signed an eight-year deal that pays him $14 million annually.
Since joining the NHL, Kaprizov, 28, has averaged more than a point a game, scoring registering 185 goals and 201 assists in 319 games. But he also has missed time because of injuries, playing 67, 75 and 41 regular-season games the past three years. Last season, he was an early Hart Trophy candidate before a lower body injury, and ensuing surgery, forced him to miss half the team’s 82-game schedule.
He still finished second on the team with 25 regular-season goals, and added five more in the Wild’s six-game first round playoff loss to Vegas.
Minnesota’s one-year window of exclusivity to negotiate with Kaprizov began on July 1, and when the Wild did not make a big splash in the free agent market — their one substantial move was trading for veteran forward Vladimir Tarasenko, who had 11 goals and 33 points in 80 games with Detroit last year — some expected a new contract for Kaprizov would be their big July announcement.
But Kaprizov has been in his native Russia for the past several months, spending time camping and hiking . He returns to Minnesota this month for the start of training camp, and even though there has been communication between Wild general manager Bill Guerin and the player’s agent, Paul Theofanous, Leipold feels that a deal is more likely to get done when the parties can meet face-to-face.
“I think it will be a good conversation that we’ll have with him, and I’m very anxious and looking forward to that conversation,” Leipold said. “I think we’ll move quickly after that.”
While speaking to reporters, Leipold made another pitch for $100 million from the State of Minnesota for improvements to the 25-year-old arena that has housed the Wild since their first exhibition game as an expansion team in 2000. He also vowed that despite the Minnesota Timberwolves’ recent ownership change, and the long-time Minnesota Twins owners flirting with selling the team, he’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
“My son works for the team, and this is going to be a family asset,” said Leipold, who previously owned the Nashville Predators before selling them and purchasing the Wild. “We’re keeping it in the family. We love it. It’s the kind of thing that if you get out of sports, you’re not getting back in. And it’s just too much fun to let go.”
The coming season will be the 25th in Wild history, and a logo commemorating their first quarter-century has been placed in the center ice circle at Grand Casino Arena.
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