“Nobody will offer more money than us”: Team Owner on Kaprizov

Minnesota Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov will be eligible for an extension next summer, as he'll then be heading into the final year of his five-year, $9 million AAV contract.

And Wild team owner Craig Leipold has left no doubt about whether he'll be trying to re-sign the young goal-scoring machine.

Wild owner Craig Leipold said he's ready to do whatever it takes to re-sign Kirill Kaprizov 💰

(via @RussoHockey) pic.twitter.com/hCivgSw9cA
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 2, 2024

Leipold says that "Priority No. 1 will be extending Kaprizov," per Michael Russo of The Athletic.

I will tell you nobody will offer more money than us, or longer. So all we have to do is prove to him that we want to win.

In addition, Leipold says they'll be looking to spend on some big-time UFA additions. Money will not be a factor. They're expected to have more than $20 million available in cap space to spend.

“Next July 1 is going to be like Christmas,” Leipold said. “We’re going to have money available. We’re going to have the resources available to do what we need to do to get back to Wild hockey. And we’re looking forward to that."

As for Kaprizov, all he did to follow up his Calder Trophy rookie year, and then signing that huge extension in 2021, is go out and post three consecutive 40-goal seasons for the Wild, last year notching 46 goals and 96 points along with a plus/minus rating of +11.

In his short four-year career, the 26-year-old already has 160 goals and 170 assists for 330 points in 278 games while averaging 20 minutes a night.