- Although Marco Rossi missed all of last season after being diagnosed with myocarditis following a bout with COVID-19, Wild GM Bill Guerin told Michael Russo of The Athletic in an interview on KFAN (audio link) that he’s not ruling out the possibility of the 19-year-old breaking camp with Minnesota this season. Rossi, the ninth-overall pick in 2020, suited up for Austria for their three games in the Olympic qualifiers last month, notching an assist.
Wild Rumors
Wild, Kirill Kaprizov Make Some Progress On Contract Talks
Contract talks for the Wild and RFA winger Kirill Kaprizov hadn’t been going too well but it appears there could be a light at the end of the tunnel. In an appearance on KFAN (audio link), Michael Russo of The Athletic noted there is a belief that the two sides have basically settled on term with a five-year deal and a price tag somewhere around the $9MM mark. However, that shouldn’t be taken as a sign that an announcement is imminent as hammering out the year-to-year structure of the deal will still take some time. A five-year agreement would give Minnesota two extra years of team control; those two seasons at the end of the deal would be the ones where Kaprizov would be eligible for trade protection which undoubtedly will be part of the year-to-year structure discussions.
Minnesota Wild Sign Jordie Benn
The Minnesota Wild have signed free agent defenseman Jordie Benn to a one-year contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $900K.
Benn, 34, split last season between the Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets, recording ten points in 39 games. The veteran defenseman has now played in 556 regular season contests, not bad for an undrafted talent out of the BCHL. Benn got his first taste of professional hockey with the Victoria Salmon Kings of the ECHL in 2008 and is a success story to show every overlooked prospect that is committed to the minor league grind. He spent two full seasons in the ECHL and nearly three more in the AHL before finally breaking through with the Dallas Stars. Though he may have originally been brought into that organization because of his younger brother’s emergence as a star, Benn has certainly proven that he is a capable NHL player in his own right.
Now for Minnesota, he joins a defensive group that looks a little different than recent years. Gone are Ryan Suter and Carson Soucy, meaning there will be plenty of minutes to go around. The team brought in Alex Goligoski, Dmitry Kulikov, and Jon Merrill to fill out the depth chart, the former being a teammate of Benn’s during his time in Dallas. That group, plus prospect Calen Addison, will likely be moved around through training camp to find the right mix for opening day.
Cheap fringe players like Benn are all the Wild can really do until they have some certainty regarding Kirill Kaprizov. The team has plenty of cap space, but Kaprizov’s hit could vary wildly depending on how many years he signs for. This contract doesn’t really change things, given it could be entirely buried in the minor leagues if necessary and represents just $150K over the league minimum. It’s just a valuable depth piece for a team that is hoping to go further than the first round this year.
Snapshots: Senators, Slepets, Rossi
As the Ottawa Senators look to finally move past their extended rebuild and take a step toward relevance this season, it is about time they name a leader of this next stage for the franchise. Speaking with the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch, Senators head coach D.J. Smith stated that “It’s time for someone to be the leader of this group.” Smith believes that Ottawa is ready to name a captain after a three-season hiatus and tells Garrioch that he intends to speak with owner Eugene Melnyk and GM Pierre Dorion about making a decision before the end of training camp. The last player to wear the “C” was Erik Karlsson during the 2017-18 season and the Senators have used only alternates in the years since. However, with young defenseman Thomas Chabot signed long-term and young forward Brady Tkachuk hoping to join him for years to come, the Senators have two players that can be the face of the franchise for many years and either one would be a good pick as captain. Which one will be a difficult and important decision for the young locker room, which is why the organization’s leaders have taken their time and will still wait to name a captain until closer to the beginning of the season.
- The odds of Carolina Hurricanes prospect Kirill Slepets making the jump to North America any time soon took another hit today. Just two weeks ago, Slepets re-signed in the KHL on a one-year deal with Spartak Moscow. The move came on the heels of a poor season for Slepets in which he played exclusively in the second-tier VHL rather than the KHL and led some to believe that the 22-year-old may cross the pond to continue his development. Instead, he stayed in Russia and after today’s trade may be settling in for an extended stay. Spartak has traded Slepets to his hometown team, Amur Khabarovsk, the club announced. Going the other way was former NHL forward Andrei Loktionov, proving that Slepets still has value in the KHL despite a down year. He has even more value to Amur, who are very excited to bring the prodigal son home and could be able to convince him to stay long-term. The 2019 fifth-round pick remains an interesting project to watch for the Hurricanes, especially given the ability he flashed at the junior level, but his NHL future is more in doubt now than ever.
- Minnesota Wild prospect Marco Rossi has no doubt that he is ready to compete for an NHL roster spot after missing this past season due to an extensive battle with COVID-19. The 2020 No. 9 overall pick has been working out hard to get back into game shape and will get his first test this week suiting up for Austria in the Olympic qualifiers. However, he is already looking ahead to Wild training camp and is confident that he can make impact in Minnesota this year. Talking to The Athletic’s Michael Russo, Rossi stated the following:
I know I haven’t played a lot of games in the last year, year and a half, but now that I can see my fitness level and my shape, I know I’m better in shape than a lot of NHL players. I see no doubt about it that I can play in the NHL. I know I can play there. I know how good I am, but I have to prove myself in training camp that I’m ready for that. I know it’s going to be up to me to show I’m ready to play right away.
Minnesota Wild Sign Carson Lambos
The Minnesota Wild have inked Carson Lambos to a three-year entry-level contract, after selecting him with their second first-round pick in this year’s draft. Lambos split last season between JYP in Finland and the Winnipeg Ice, but was shut down early because of a leg injury.
The 26th-overall pick this season, Lambos will almost certainly be heading back to the WHL for the upcoming season. He played just two games with Winnipeg in 2020-21, failing to record a point before injury wrecked his season. That actually may have caused a bit of a slip on draft day, as Lambos was ranked 11th by NHL Central Scouting among North American skaters and ended higher than 26 on most other public rankings. The Wild obviously believe he will recover fully and continue on his development path as a strong two-way defender, one who has a little (very little) bit of experience playing against professionals.
Should Lambos return to the WHL as expected, his contract will not kick in for the 2021-22 season. Instead, it will slide forward, meaning the Wild would have him signed through at least 2024-25. There’s no rush for the 6’1″ defenseman, who led all WHL rookie defensemen in scoring in 2019-20 with 32 points in 57 games.
Alexander Khovanov Expected To Play In North America For 2021-22
The Minnesota Wild are expecting Alexander Khovanov back in North America for the 2021-22 season, according to Michael Russo of The Athletic. The 21-year-old forward played in Russia this year on loan from the Wild, suiting up mostly in the VHL where he was once again a dynamic offensive presence.
Minnesota Wild, Kirill Kaprizov Continue To Work Towards Contract
The Minnesota Wild have exactly one restricted free agent to sign, but it’s a big one. Kirill Kaprizov, the reigning Calder Trophy winner and arguably the most exciting player to ever play for the franchise, currently doesn’t have a contract for the 2021-22 season. With everyone else signed the team has an exact number they could work up to but it is still unclear on what kind of deal the two sides will eventually land on.
For the last several weeks, there has been speculation about whether Kaprizov would actually turn down an offer from the Wild entirely and return to the KHL. As Michael Russo of The Athletic tweets, though a contract is not imminent the Wild and Kaprizov’s camp are still talking. CSKA Moscow, his old team in Russia that has been linked to Kaprizov over and over, recently stated publicly that they are not negotiating a return with the young forward.
Discussion between the Wild and their best player is obviously a positive, but it still remains to be seen if they can get Kaprizov signed long-term. The 24-year-old is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2023-24 season unless he signs a contract beyond that in the meantime. A three-year deal would take him right to the open market, while anything past that would be buying out UFA years. That would undoubtedly make the average annual value higher, though even these next few years will likely be expensive for the Wild as they try to lock up the dynamic forward.
With $13MM in cap space right now, there’s plenty of room to fit in Kaprizov even if he wants to be paid among the league’s elite. The Wild will have to consider the hefty cap penalties they have coming after buyouts of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, but also have several big contracts coming off the books after this season. It appears as though things are headed in the right direction, but with no pressure points until training camp opens next month, there’s no real rush in Minnesota.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
GM Guerin Still Hopeful That Fiala Will Sign Long-Term Deal Next Summer
- Wild GM Bill Guerin acknowledged to reporters including Sarah MacLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that while he would have loved to sign winger Kevin Fiala to a long-term deal, it just wasn’t feasible to do so. He did indicate that he’s still hopeful that he’ll be able to get a multi-year pact in place with the 25-year-old for 2022-23 and beyond although with the buyout charges they have on the books beyond next season, that could be a little more complicated. Fiala avoided arbitration earlier this week with a one-year, $5.1MM contract that will also serve as his qualifying offer next offseason.
Mason Shaw Signs With Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild have signed minor league forward Mason Shaw to a two-year, two-way contract. The deal will pay him $750K at the NHL level in both years. His AHL salary in 2021-22 will be $100K, while it increases to $125K in 2022-23.
Shaw, 22, was a restricted free agent this offseason but ineligible for salary arbitration. His entry-level contract, originally signed in 2018 after being the 97th overall pick in 2017, came and went without a single NHL game to his name. The former WHL star initially struggled to make the transition to the AHL, but came on this season, posting 22 points in 30 games for the Iowa Wild. Standing 5’9″ it will be hard for him to ever really make it as an impact player in the NHL, but that’s not for lack of effort. The undersized forward is usually the first on the puck in the offensive zone, relentlessly creating turnovers and trying to make a play for his linemates.
It’s going to be difficult to find many opportunities in Minnesota this season, given how many depth pieces they have, but perhaps another strong start with Iowa will allow Shaw to climb up the chart a bit. If the NHL club runs into several injuries, he could potentially earn a call-up. It’s the second year of the deal that’s likely Shaw’s best chance at making it though, given how many players in the system are on expiring deals. Victor Rask, Nick Bjugstad, Kyle Rau and Nico Sturm are all pending UFAs, meaning someone will have to fill those spots. A big season in the AHL could put Shaw on the radar, all you can ask for as a minor league player.
Minnesota Wild Finally Have Salary Cap Certainty For 2021-22
One of the offseason’s biggest stories has undoubtedly been the salary cap situation of the Minnesota Wild. General manager Bill Guerin was faced with an extremely tricky deck of cards this summer – the team’s three best forwards were all restricted free agents and needed new contracts. With a frozen salary cap and increasing market value, it was never going to be easy for the Wild to continue icing a contending team in 2021-22.
However, with Kevin Fiala inking a one-year $5.1MM contract today to stay in Minnesota, the team finally has some clarity in how they’ll be rolling their lineup in the near future. What’s for certain now is that the team will have enough financial flexibility to have Kirill Kaprizov on the roster, at least for next season. With Fiala signed and a full roster, the Wild have $13.1MM in cap space with only Kaprizov left to sign.
But, it seems with every passing day that Kaprizov’s eventual signing price will likely be astronomical, and on a short-term deal as well. The likely outcome here by most accounts is Kaprizov signing a deal equal to or shorter than four seasons, likely between $7-10MM. It’s certainly doable for 2021-22, but the main concerns have never been just about next year.
Moving forward, it’ll be even tougher for Minnesota to stay cap-compliant. The promise of a slightly increasing Upper Limit helps somewhat, but not by much. While 2022-23 sees the combined $9MM cap hits of Victor Rask and Alex Goligoski vanish, they’ll also need a new deal for Fiala, gritty winger Jordan Greenway, and promising netminder Kaapo Kahkonen. The total cap hit increase of those deals, plus an $8MM increase in cap penalties due to the Ryan Suter and Zach Parise buyouts, make a scenario in which all three players are retained nearly impossible, even with some team-friendly deals.
The deal Fiala signed is likely very similar to what he would have been awarded had the case gone to arbitration. It doesn’t exactly show long-term commitment to the relationship between player and team, so it wouldn’t be a shock to see another transaction involving Fiala within the next calendar year.
While cost certainty helps create a clearer picture for the upcoming 2021-22 season, the long-term landscape still remains treacherous for the up-and-coming squad.
All salary cap figures from CapFriendly.com