Kirill Kaprizov Signs Record $136M Extension, Setting Historic Bar for NHL Contracts

In a stunning development on Tuesday, after months of speculation and negotiations, the Minnesota Wild and forward Kirill Kaprizov have come to an agreement on an extension worth a ludicrous $17-million per season.

The news was broken by NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman on X:

It finally puts an end to the constant back and forth between Minnesota and GM Bill Guerin's group as well as Kaprizov's camp as there was some serious doubt that he would re-sign at the end of the day.

Kaprizov previously rejected the largest offer in NHL history, which was $16-million AAV, so it was clear the tipping point was that extra $8-million for those eight years.

Kaprizov, 28, had 56 points in 41 games last season (25 goals, 31 assists) and has registered 386 points in 319 games for the Wild since being drafted 135th overall in 2015.

The insane amount of money that the Wild locked down Kaprizov for is just a taste of what we can expect from 2026's free agent class, but it also might have a massive domino effect.

If Kaprizov is getting that type of money, then how much are the likes of Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel worth? All of a sudden we're looking at potentially $20-million or higher per season for these players which might give their current teams pause.

If there's hesitation from teams, and knowing they can get a bag on the free market, we might see a lot of potential free agents who would have re-signed may decide to test the waters to see how much they can get (which is another story altogether).

While there's really no concerns right now regarding the Maple Leafs' stars, considering they have pretty much everyone locked up that they need to.

But it does mean that they need to make sure they have enough money to not only sign and pay a premium free agent this summer, but to be able to afford their future expensive extensions.

If Auston Matthews finds his old form, wins some awards and even a Cup, that's going to drive up his price immensely by the time 2029 comes around. With his contract the earliest to be tended to; it's at least good GM Brad Treliving has the Kaprizov deal to gauge things.

There's a delicate balance that the Maple Leafs need to find between splurging next summer on a free agent, and keeping enough money to make sure they can hold onto their captain in the future.