The Minnesota Wild have secured left wing Kirill Kaprizov with an eight-year, $136 million contract extension through the 2033-34 season, a record-breaking deal announced by general manager Bill Guerin on Tuesday.
This contract sets new NHL records for both total value and average annual value ($17 million), surpassing the previous benchmarks set by Alex Ovechkin ($124 million) and Leon Draisaitl ($14 million AAV).
“Kirill staying with us was always the goal,” Guerin stated.
The extension, effective next season, includes substantial signing bonuses for the first four years, according to ESPN sources. Kaprizov will complete the current season under the last year of his five-year, $45 million contract signed in 2021.
Alex Ovechkin’s contract was a 13-year agreement signed in 2008, under different NHL term limits.
The announcement follows a week of negotiations between Kaprizov’s representatives and the Wild, with Kaprizov rejecting an earlier offer of $16 million per year, just before the NHL season begins.
“It’s finalized now, so we can focus on playing without distractions,” Kaprizov said.
The NHL and NHLPA have confirmed significant salary cap increases for the next three seasons, following years of limited growth due to COVID.
In the 2024-25 season, the 28-year-old Kaprizov recorded 25 goals, 31 assists, and a plus-19 rating in 41 games. Over five seasons and 319 games with the Wild, he ranks fourth in franchise history with 185 goals and fifth with 386 points.
Drafted in the fifth round in 2015, Kaprizov is among the Wild’s all-time greats. He holds single-season franchise records for points (108), goals (47), and power-play goals (19), and is the only Wild player with multiple 40-goal seasons. He also earned the Calder Trophy in the shortened 2020-21 season with 27 goals and 24 assists.
Richest NHL Contracts
Kirill Kaprizov’s $136 million extension with the Minnesota Wild is the richest contract in terms of both total money and average annual value.
| PLAYER | TM. | DEAL |
| Kirill Kaprizov | MIN | $136M |
| Alex Ovechkin | WSH | $124M |
| Leon Draisaitl | EDM | $112M |
| Shea Weber | NSH | $110M |
| PLAYER | TM. | AAV |
| Kirill Kaprizov | MIN | $17M |
| Leon Draisaitl | EDM | $14M |
| Auston Matthews | TOR | $13.25M |
| Nathan MacKinnon | COL | $12.6M |
| Connor McDavid | EDM | $12.5M |
| Mitch Marner | LV | $12M |
| Mikko Rantanen | DAL | $12M |
Through Christmas in the 2024-25 season, Kirill Kaprizov amassed 50 points, tying Nikita Kucherov for fourth in the NHL, trailing Nathan MacKinnon (57), Leon Draisaitl (52), and Mikko Rantanen (52). The Wild started strong with a 21-10-4 record, but Kaprizov’s two lower-body injuries starting December 23 sidelined him for significant periods, impacting the team’s performance as they went 24-20-3 without him.
Owner Craig Leipold expressed confidence over recent months that a deal with Kaprizov would be finalized, emphasizing that no other team could offer a more lucrative contract than the Wild.
The eight-year extension is among the last of its kind in the NHL, as the new CBA will cap re-signings with current teams at seven years and free agent contracts at six years, down from seven.
Kaprizov’s deal may set the market for other pending unrestricted free agents, with players like Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, who is in the final year of his contract and could hit free agency on July 1, as well as Jack Eichel and Artemi Panarin, watching closely.
The Wild’s previous richest and longest contracts were 13-year, $98 million deals signed by Zach Parise and Ryan Suter on July 4, 2012.
Minnesota has endured 10 straight seasons without a playoff series win, the fourth-longest active drought in the NHL, behind Buffalo (18), Detroit (12), and Los Angeles (11).
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