Elliotte Friedman offers bold take on Kirill Kaprizov's future with Wild despite rejecting monstrous $128M extension offer

Elliotte Friedman shared his thoughts on Kirill Kaprizov’s future with the Minnesota Wild after he reportedly turned down a massive contract offer. Reports mentioned that Kaprizov’s camp rejected an eight-year $128 million deal on Sept. 9. The decision surprised many, as the winger has been the Wild’s top scorer since joining the NHL.

Friedman highlighted on Tuesday that Kaprizov genuinely likes Minnesota.

“I've heard that he actually really does like Minnesota, like he's not lying. He does like it there,” Friedman said (19:09), via "The FAN Hockey Show."

Friedman added that contract talks are often more complicated than they seem. While the Wild want to keep Kaprizov, they may be careful not to push their offer too high.

“Do we really need to offer one more dollar?” Friedman said.

Friedman compared Kaprizov to Auston Matthews, who signed multiple contracts with Toronto over many years. The insider noted that he seems to want one long-term deal for security. Friedman also suggested Kaprizov and his agents may get bigger opportunities elsewhere, which could explain why they turned down the offer.

Kaprizov’s recent performance shows why Minnesota values him. He recorded 25 goals and 31 assists for 56 points with a +19 rating last sason. Kaprizov had five game-winning goals and averaged over 22 minutes per game. Since being drafted at No. 135 in 2015, he has been a consistent scorer for the team.

Despite the contract uncertainty, Kaprizov is focused on hockey.

“It’s not my job right now," Kaprizov said on Thursday, via The Athletic’s Michael Russo and Joe Smith. "I just want to focus and be ready for the season and keep playing, and that’s it.”

Bill Guerin addresses Kirill Kaprizov contract rumors

Amid the ongoing speculation, Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin addressed the situation. He stressed that the team is committed to keeping Kirill Kaprizov and handling negotiations professionally.

“These negotiations are private," Guerin said on Thursday, via NHL.com. "I can't really get into it. Things are fine. The most important thing is that we want to sign Kirill. He's our franchise player. We want to keep him here. He's a big part of our team. We're working toward that. We're doing the best we can. Hopefully we'll get there sooner than later.”

Guerin downplayed reports on Sept. 11 that Kaprizov turned down the eight-year $128 million extension.

“I don't know where this stuff comes from," Guerin said, via the "10,000 Takes" podcast. "I know two things: that info didn't come from us, and it didn't come from Kirill's agent.”

He added that he has a strong relationship with Kaprizov’s agent and is focused on protecting the winger while keeping negotiations professional.