May 22, 2021; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov (97) skates with the puck against the Vegas Golden Knights in game four of the first round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports
Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov received a “legit” offer from CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League in his home country of Russia, The Athletic reported Tuesday.
Kaprizov, who won the 2021 Calder Trophy (NHL rookie of the year), is a pending unrestricted free agent.
The winger played for CSKA Moscow for three seasons from 2017-20 before making the leap to the NHL. The KHL is widely considered the second-best pro hockey league in the world, but it rarely poaches promising young players from the NHL in the current day and age.
Kaprizov, 24, led Minnesota last season in points (51) and goals (27). Perhaps knowing that they would need to make room on the books for a new contract for Kaprizov, the Wild bought out veterans Zach Parise and Ryan Suter late last week.
The Athletic reported that the contract term is believed to be one of the sticking points in Kaprizov’s negotiations with the Wild: He wants a shorter deal, while the club would prefer to lock him up for the maximum eight-year contract that it can offer.
–Field Level Media