The Minnesota Wild are reported to have agreed to terms that will make Kirill Kaprizov the best compensated athlete ever in the National Hockey League. Kaprizov has reportedly put pen to paper on an eight-year, $136 million contract extension with the Wild, which will result in an average annual remuneration of $17.0 million for each season.
Kaparizov’s agreement is scheduled to commence in the 2026-27 season and will continue up to and including the 2033-34 campaign. The outstanding forward was due to enter the final season of a five-year, $45 million contract that was agreed back in 2021. He would have been eligible to become an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season.
This contract sets a new benchmark in the league’s history regarding the total financial commitment, as Kaprizov’s updated agreement surpasses the 13-year, $124 million contract extension previously signed by Washington Capitals icon Alex Ovechkin in 2008. In addition, Kaprizov’s contract is also expected to exceed the annual cap hit of Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl, who is currently at $14.0 million.
It is understood that Kaprizov previously declined an eight-year, $128 million contract extension offer.
The Wild’s forward recently concluded a season where he accumulated 56 points (comprising 25 goals and 31 assists) in the 2024-25 season, although he was sidelined for 41 games due to a lower-body injury. The Wild’s prominent player had achieved three successive 40-goal seasons before the injury-affected 2024-25 season, which included a career-best 47 goals in the 2021-22 season.
Since his entry into the league in 2020-21, Kaprizov has flourished to become recognized as one of the most electrifying goal-scoring talents in the NHL. Kaprizov — who was picked in the fifth round of the 2015 NHL Draft — was awarded the Calder Trophy in recognition of being the league’s best rookie in 2020-21, and has subsequently been selected to participate in three NHL All-Star Games.
