Welcome back, everyone to the world's #1 salary cap fantasy hockey article. That's depending on who you talk to though. At the very least, I think I'm probably in the top five. Anywho, last week we covered all things Edmonton Oilers and the Jack Eichel signing, so this week we have to go back and cover a sort of contentious Kirill Kaprizov extension.  It's time we go over this contract and Minnesota as a whole, so buckle up.

Kirill Kaprizov signs an eight-year, $136.00M ($17M AAV) deal with the Minnesota Wild

Let's start with an exercise here…close your eyes. Actually, don't do that because you're reading the words off this screen, so instead let's have a thought exercise. What names come to mind if I asked you who the top five forwards in the NHL are right now? There are probably three or four givens, then we can maybe debate the last spot, but is Kaprizov one of those names? Many fans out there would probably say "no" to that question, and that's sort of where I stand as well. I must admit right now that I am a big Kaprizov fan but right now let's separate the player from the extension that he signed…which, for right now, is the most expensive AAV in NHL history.

It was reported here on Dobber back on September 10^th that Kaprizov turned down an eight-year $128M extension with the Wild. So why did he turn it down? Two things worked in his favor: a rising cap and the fact that Minnesota showed their hand when comments were made by the Wild owner and other team officials during contract negotiations indicating that Kaprizov had a "blank check" when coming to the negotiating table. If your boss said that to you at your job, would you settle for the first offer?

Because I'm sort of obsessed with all things NHL, I recall the Kaprizov's first contract deal being made at the 11^th hour, as I was watching a video from the Minnesota Wild website of him getting off that private jet from Russia (which was difficult to get him stateside from what I remember), waving to the camera with a broken-English, "Hello", then signing his deal. In a way, he controlled all negotiations back then by not negotiating at all, thus putting the Wild in a difficult position, and may have done the same this time around. This is arguably the best player in your franchise's history, and the real ticket to go far come playoff time – what is the plan B if he were to walk?

In some ways I like this extension, and in other aspects I get cold feet. The positives here outside of dodging a total PR nightmare for the Wild is if you look at the LW position in today's NHL, how many "elite" players are there at that position? Again, I watch a ton of random hockey videos and if you want to get inspired to put in a workout go and look at Kaprizov's. You'll feel really good about lifting barbells in your garage after watching this guy carry a tire and work battle ropes in the middle of a thunderstorm. So, we have an elite player (check), who's clearly motivated (check), and by all accounts, a very likeable teammate which is great to see from your club's best player.

Where I get cold feet here is that AAV number itself. I thought that this contract was going to set the bar extremely high for the next crop of UFA's and so far, we've seen the opposite. Connor McDavid signed for the same AAV from his previous contract and Jack Eichel signed for $13.5M…maybe to make more than Mitch Marner and be the highest-paid Golden Knight but that's a conversation for another time.  The percentage of the salary cap is what really has me nervous as Kaprizov will account for a whopping 16.4% of the salary cap. To put that into perspective, not only is that the highest by a single player but the closest number we have to that is the start of the Auston Matthews extension at 15%, then we move down to Leon Draisaitl at 14.6%. Yes, the salary cap is going up, but there's a misconception that the cap ceiling will rise, and that money is going to be left vacant. A rising cap is for all players on a roster so in a way this extension will look lower in the seasons to follow, but it deters what you can do with necessary spending and that's where I think Minnesota had a big miss.

This is the first season where Zach Parise and Ryan Suter's buyout don't 100% hinder what Minnesota could do financially and coming into the offseason, I thought that this was a club that could do some really creative things with their salary cap. I've been on record saying that I didn't like the Brock Faber extension because at that number, I need more from the power play but what's done is done. For me, if I was the Wild, I would have been praying that someone offer sheets Marco Rossi so I can get a high pick back in return and use that money to get big down the middle and potentially find another wing to complement my power play. I had the perception that getting some size at the center position was a going to be an offseason priority for Minnesota with Joel Eriksson Ek at 6'2, and Yakov Trenin at that same size. Then you throw Rossi at 5'9 in the mix and the Wild have already at times this season moved him down the lines. As far as an impact winger, the Wild went out and signed Vladimir Tarasenko who hasn't really been impactful since raising the Cup and parading around dive bars in the St. Louis area. No shade implied there at all, just stick to the Missouri side of the river! Fellow countrymen and yes that matters, but as far as wins, losses, and filling stats, there's something left to be desired.

Maybe this contract and Kaprizov staying put attracts free agents to come to Minnesota? Sure, we can talk about the weather all day, but we can also talk about how many NHL players were born there, played high school hockey there, possibly university, and so on. It's always been a mystery to me on how they go overlooked. If I'm Minnesota, I now hope that #97 on my club stays healthy, along with a cap rising 8-9% throughout the duration of this deal to get that cap percentage hit down to just below 10%. What's more likely, is growth closer to 5%, to where the percentage of my cap allocated to one player still floats around the 11% mark.

*Salary Cap data from PuckPedia.com  

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