Kirill Kaprizov and the Minnesota Wild are "not that far off" on a new contract, owner Craig Leipold said Wednesday.
"I kind of think we're there," Leipold told The Athletic. "I like to believe when Kirill comes over and gets a sense again for the excitement and the love of the city, I think we'll be moving forward in a good direction."
The 28-year-old forward can become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, when the five-year, $45 million contract ($9 million average annual value) he signed on Sept. 21, 2021, ends. Kaprizov has been eligible to sign an eight-year contract with Minnesota since July 1, when general manager Bill Guerin said re-signing Kaprizov was "priority No. 1."
If Kaprizov signs after July 1, 2026, he can only get a seven-year deal.
Kaprizov led the Wild last season with a plus-19 rating and finished second in goals (25) and third in points (56) despite playing just 41 games due to injury that sidelined him for much of the second half of the season.
He returned on April 9 and had four points (two goals, two assists) in the final four games of the regular season and nine points (five goals, four assists) in six Stanley Cup Playoff games. Minnesota (45-30-7) was the first wild card in the Western Conference and lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round.
Selected by the Wild in the fifth round (No. 135) of the 2015 NHL Draft, Kaprizov has led them in points in four of his five NHL seasons and won the Calder Trophy as the League's best rookie in 2020-21. He has 386 points (15th in the NHL), and 185 goals (tied for eighth) in 319 games since entering the NHL.
"This will be a huge deal -- likely the biggest in the NHL ever," Leipold said. "There's no better human being or better hockey player or better person than Kirill. I think it will be a good conversation that we'll have with him. I'm very anxious and looking forward to that conversation. I think we'll move quickly after that."
Minnesota plays its season opener on Oct. 9 at the St. Louis Blues.
NHL.com independent correspondent Jessi Pierce contributed to this report
