Speculation: Russo on the status of Kaprizov’s contract negotiations

[Mr Positive]

Give him a 1 year 6.5m deal and trade him at the 2022 draft.

Obviously KK has no intention of becoming the longterm franchise player of the Wild. The sooner Guerin gets it in his head that KK is not willing to stay longterm, the easier it will be for everyone involved. He will be very motivated to show that he is worth the big bucks and the assets needed from the destination he wants longerm and the Wild should get a really good haul for KK with 2 years of RFA left.

Guerin and Wild fans have been in denial but everything that has come out from the KK camp points to him wanting to go the Panarin route and him not having any intention of staying longer in Minnesota than he really has to. So all these offers that are trying to buy multiple UFA years are just a waste of time but yet it seems like the Wild have dug in in that regard.

the problem there is that Guerin probably really loves Kaprisov and wants him to stay a Wild. I'm guessing Kaprisov also would like to stay a Wild. The problem is the cap situation in Minnesota.

I get that it is frustrating that a deal hasn't been signed yet but that's not even that strange for RFAs. Guerin has a hard core problem with the cap so he has to take a hard, uncomfortable stance in negotiations. Also as nice as it would be for Kaprisov to just play ball and bend to Minny's needs, there's no expectation that he has to do that. Players look to comparables around the league, and not just to what their controlling team's standard is.

It's the right thing for Guerin to chisel whatever he can from Kaprisov, so this standoff was inevitable no matter what Kaprisov's stance was.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

the problem there is that Guerin probably really loves Kaprisov and wants him to stay a Wild. I'm guessing Kaprisov also would like to stay a Wild. The problem is the cap situation in Minnesota.

I get that it is frustrating that a deal hasn't been signed yet but that's not even that strange for RFAs. Guerin has a hard core problem with the cap so he has to take a hard, uncomfortable stance in negotiations. Also as nice as it would be for Kaprisov to just play ball and bend to Minny's needs, there's no expectation that he has to do that. Players look to comparables around the league, and not just to what their controlling team's standard is.

It's the right thing for Guerin to chisel whatever he can from Kaprisov, so this standoff was inevitable no matter what Kaprisov's stance was.

Except he has already (reportedly) bent in negotiations.

 

[Mr Positive]

Except he has already (reportedly) bent in negotiations.

there's lots there we don't know though. Like for instance if a concession is made on term but it comes with another change in AAV, that can be a new point to be negotiated. (or vice versa)

 

[rynryn]

As far as I remember Minnesota didn't care about him for first few years after the draft. He was just another 5th rounder for them. They didn't even bother to ask him to come, and now it's his fault.

could you pls link something supporting this? or i guess we could just continue on with this weird fantasy and re-enforce it every time someone posts this and eventually it'll become true. Everyone seems to qualify this with "as far as i remember" because what they remember is someone else posting this same thing.

as far as i remember Kirill wanted to develop in Russia, then signed a 3 year deal with his club and at least a couple occasions we tried but didn't have access to the player (during international tournaments). This was HIS plan to avoid playing in the AHL while he developed.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

there's lots there we don't know though. Like for instance if a concession is made on term but it comes with another change in AAV, that can be a new point to be negotiated. (or vice versa)

Could be true, but from the little that we "know" it didn't sound like there was much of a dollars drop going from 8 to 5 years, which is already pretty dang generous.

 

[rynryn]

What is the max percentage of a player's salary that can be paid in (escrow exempt) signing bonuses? It counts against the cap from the team's perspective but from the players' they'd obviously want as much of their deal in bonuses as possible. So what might be the sticking point if that's one of the details they're trying to hammer out?

Also if you do give him a signing bonus and he decides to f*** off to russia after all you're just out that money, right? i mean i'd be awfully hesitant to give him that $ if I were Leipold after the way this has gone.

 

[Chrisinroch]

could you pls link something supporting this? or i guess we could just continue on with this weird fantasy and re-enforce it every time someone posts this and eventually it'll become true. Everyone seems to qualify this with "as far as i remember" because what they remember is someone else posting this same thing.

as far as i remember Kirill wanted to develop in Russia, then signed a 3 year deal with his club and at least a couple occasions we tried but didn't have access to the player (during international tournaments). This was HIS plan to avoid playing in the AHL while he developed.

This is my recollection also

 

[Circulartheory]

As far as I remember Minnesota didn't care about him for first few years after the draft. He was just another 5th rounder for them. They didn't even bother to ask him to come, and now it's his fault.

Sorry but that doesn't make sense to me. For one, no such thing as "just anouther 5th rounder". Every pick is carefully scouted, drafted, and monitored. Draft picks are long term investments and no NHL team would "not care", this is a real business with tons of money on the line with stakeholders and investors.

And like others mentioned, it was also my recollection that he wanted to develop in the KHL, at home, rather than in Iowa. He's get more pay, plays at home, and arguably equal/better competition. And the Wild were happy to oblige.

 

[kp61c]

There is this thing called the draft, rfa, and ufa. Does the KHL not have a similar setup with some kind of rules and structure to follow? If Kap wants to be walked right to UFA status then he should expect less money, if he wants a big payday then the term has to go up. Want to make millions in the nhl, well some team has to pay you that money and they need to do what is best for the team and not pay there best winger to walk as soon as possible.

If kap wants 3 and the wild want 8 who is being unreasonable? 5 seems like some nice middle ground that leans kaps way by a year and the money sounds plenty good.

Negotiations should be conducted in good faith. Demanding a player to sign a deal for at least 5 years till he's almost 30 doesn't seem fair. The team here wants to buy all his prime years and then discard him like a worn out boot. It's hardly surprising that Kaprizov is not thrilled about such a prospect.

 

[AKL]

What is the max percentage of a player's salary that can be paid in (escrow exempt) signing bonuses? It counts against the cap from the team's perspective but from the players' they'd obviously want as much of their deal in bonuses as possible. So what might be the sticking point if that's one of the details they're trying to hammer out?

Also if you do give him a signing bonus and he decides to f*** off to russia after all you're just out that money, right? i mean i'd be awfully hesitant to give him that $ if I were Leipold after the way this has gone.

I went back a few weeks ago and looked up any kind of stories from that time about it to see if I could figure it out, and I posted it here. The idea that the Wild didn't want him or didn't try to get him over here or didn't care about him is a complete myth. You could maybe argue they could have tried harder, but they were already talking to anyone they could that knew him, including his teammates, trying to get him over here, and he didn't want to.

 

[AKL]

Negotiations should be conducted in good faith. Demanding a player to sign a deal for at least 5 years till he's almost 30 doesn't seem fair. The team here wants to buy all his prime years and then discard him like a worn out boot. It's hardly surprising that Kaprizov is not thrilled about such a prospect.

Good faith goes both ways, you don't seem to grasp that.

 

[rynryn]

Negotiations should be conducted in good faith. Demanding a player to sign a deal for at least 5 years till he's almost 30 doesn't seem fair. The team here wants to buy all his prime years and then discard him like a worn out boot. It's hardly surprising that Kaprizov is not thrilled about such a prospect.

i think you don't know what "good faith" means. It's absolutely certain the Wild wanted to sign Kaprizov for as long as they could with a contract that works within their cap situation. And they still are trying. How, exactly, has anything the Wild done so far demonstrated anything but "good faith". Their intentions are obvious, stated, and they haven't given any indication of tricking Kaprizov into signing something that goes counter to those intentions.

what are you talking about?

 

[kp61c]

Good faith goes both ways, you don't seem to grasp that.

The Wild should grasp that and stop demanding Kaprizov to sign for 5+ years.

 

[AKL]

The Wild should grasp that and stop demanding Kaprizov to sign for 5+ years.

Like I said, you don't understand that it goes both ways.

 

[kp61c]

Like I said, you don't understand that it goes both ways.

You don't understand what you regard as fair is unacceptable for the other side.

 

[Kshahdoo]

could you pls link something supporting this? or i guess we could just continue on with this weird fantasy and re-enforce it every time someone posts this and eventually it'll become true. Everyone seems to qualify this with "as far as i remember" because what they remember is someone else posting this same thing.

as far as i remember Kirill wanted to develop in Russia, then signed a 3 year deal with his club and at least a couple occasions we tried but didn't have access to the player (during international tournaments). This was HIS plan to avoid playing in the AHL while he developed.

It seems like the Wild really screwed up the Kirill Kaprizov situation

 

[rynryn]

It seems like the Wild really screwed up the Kirill Kaprizov situation

if that's what you're basing your entire understanding of the situation on, makes perfect sense.

 

[rynryn]

perhaps the russians among us can more easily find disgruntled Kaprizov quotes?

 

[Digitalbooya]

You don't understand what you regard as fair is unacceptable for the other side.

You don’t understand what you regard as fair is unacceptable for the other side.

Literally digest your own words from the opposite perspective.

 

[JoemAvs]

You don’t understand what you regard as fair is unacceptable for the other side.

Literally digest your own words from the opposite perspective.

Problem is the CBA. Wild have his rights till he is 27. They can't just force him to sign for longer if he doesn't want to.

Force KK to take way less money if he wants short term. That seems like a somewhat adequate trade-off.

 

[AKL]

Problem is the CBA. Wild have his rights till he is 27. They can't just force him to sign for longer if he doesn't want to.

Force KK to take way less money if he wants short term. That seems like a somewhat adequate trade-off.

The thing is, it's not about the money for the Wild. So offering way less money to get him to sign for three years doesn't help us at all.

 

[Ban Hammered]

Negotiations should be conducted in good faith. Demanding a player to sign a deal for at least 5 years till he's almost 30 doesn't seem fair. The team here wants to buy all his prime years and then discard him like a worn out boot. It's hardly surprising that Kaprizov is not thrilled about such a prospect.

You're still pushing this shit?
There is no gun to his head to sign.

 

[SniperOnTheWing]

I know I make the Panarin contract progression comparison all the time, but again it applies here because there is serious danger that Kaprisov walks from Minny for greener pastures after this deal, just like Panarin did to Columbus

Panarin is still not a good comparison though. He wasn’t drafted by Columbus nor did he ask to go there. He was traded there, in a deal he couldn’t possibly be happy about because he actually liked it in Chicago, and he held up his end of the bargain by playing his ass off for two years without complaint. After that he had every right to explore his UFA options and frankly didn’t owe Columbus anything.

Kaprizov was drafted by the Wild and I think most would assume that would at least earn them a small token of loyalty. It seems pretty clear that’s not a factor.

 

[thrillhous]

It seems like the Wild really screwed up the Kirill Kaprizov situation

Thank you for helping those with poor memories.

 

[Kshahdoo]

if that's what you're basing your entire understanding of the situation on, makes perfect sense.

That's just one link. As far as I remember Russo reported too that Fletcher didn't do a lot to convince Kaprizov to come to NA.