Kaprizov Reportedly Turned Down Largest Contract In NHL History

The Minnesota Wild entered this offseason with two grand plans. One, they would finally be out from under the 'dead' contracts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, which would allow them to fully take advantage of free agency.

Two, the Wild would re-sign superstar forward Kirill Kaprizov to lock up the best player in team history long-term.

So far, General Manager Bill Guerin is 0-2.

Free agency largely turned out to be a non-event, although it is hard to assign any blame for that as most anticipated free agents decided to stay with their former teams. There simply was not enough of a supply of upgrades available to the team.

KAPRIZOV TURNED DOWN WHAT?! 

According to hockey reporter Frank Seravalli via X, Kaprizov and his agent turned down an eight year, $128 million dollar deal that would have made him the highest paid player IN LEAGUE HISTORY.

Go ahead and double back to read that again.

Kaprizov didn't turn down a lowball (see Rossi, Marco) offer or even just a decent one... he turned down a deal that's average value ($16 million) and total value would be the highest in the entire history of the National Hockey League.

SO YOU'RE SAYING THERE'S A CHANCE 

Some reports indicate that Kaprizov could be willing to sign a shorter-term deal, say three or four years, to feel out the direction of the team and give himself a chance to make even more money if the league's salary cap continues to rise.

If that's not the case, Guerin will have a MASSIVE decision to make when it comes to trading the superstar winger.

With the Wild's first preseason game just over ten days away, this situation could prove to be a huge distraction for coach John Hynes and his squad.