The Minnesota Wild have signed left wing Kirill Kaprizov to an NHL-record eight-year, $136 million contract extension through the 2033-34 season, general manager Bill Guerin announced Tuesday.
The deal is the highest in NHL history in terms of total money and average annual value ($17 million), breaking the marks previously held by Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin ($124 million) and Edmonton Oilers standout Leon Draisaitl ($14 million AAV).
The news comes one week before the NHL season started after prolonged extension talks between Kaprizov's camp and the Wild, in which Kaprizov turned down a deal that would pay him $16 million annually.
The NHL and NHLPA have already announced significant jumps in the salary cap for the next three seasons after COVID slowed down growth for several years.
The 28-year-old Kaprizov had 25 goals and 31 assists and a plus-19 rating in 41 games during the 2024-25 regular season. Over five seasons with the Wild, he has scored 185 goals and 386 points in 319 games.
Kaprizov, a 2015 fifth-round pick, is already one of the best players to ever suit up for the Wild. The winger holds single-season franchise records in points (108), goals (47), power play goals (19) and is the only player in franchise history with multiple 40-goal seasons,
Owner Craig Leipold made several public comments over the past few months projecting confidence that the deal could get done, claiming no other team could offer a richer contract than the Wild.
The eight-year deal will be one of the last in the NHL, as the new CBA will limit players re-signing with their own teams to a seven-year maximum deal. Free agents will be capped at six-year deals, rather than seven.
