If 2019-20 NHL Season Resumes, Kirill Kaprizov Expected to Play for Wild

If this NHL season, currently suspended due to COVID-19, does happen to resume this summer, sources say Kaprizov wants to debut immediately.

If the NHL would allow that, the Wild would grant Kaprizov’s wish. Remember, the Wild had previously stated that Kaprizov’s contract would start next season…

The Athletic – Michael Russo

via GIPHY

Oooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh really? Now, we need hockey to somehow resume, in an even more desperate fashion. I need to see Kirill Kaprizov in a Wild uniform ASAP!

The 2019-20 NHL season getting back underway (or any resemblance of a playoff tournament taking place), seems like a long shot, at this point. However, where there’s a will, there‘s often a way. The money an NHL playoffs would generate for a league that desperately needs revenue… might be all the will necessary to hold out hopes until August.

If the season did end today and the league went into a normal playoff bracket, the Wild‘s season would be over. When the season was put on hold, the Wild had 77 points. They needed 78 points, to finish tied for the last wild card in the Western Conference. According to Russo however, the NHL would be more inclined to keep teams like the Wild involved, should they aim to complete last season.

The NHL doesn’t know what that end of season scenario would look like for sure, but Russo writes about both an expanded playoff OR a play-in style tournament that would allow wild card teams to battle their way in…

One thing seems clear… the next time NHL games take place, we’ll see Kirill Kaprizov playing for the Minnesota Wild.

…if rules permit and the Wild are allowed to burn the first year of his contract if there’s a semblance of a regular season or if they’re included in an expanded playoff field, Kaprizov would debut this season as opposed to next.

That could mean that Kaprizov would agree to terms on two contracts: one that starts this season if the NHL ever resumes and another that starts next season if this season is canceled.

The Athletic – Michael Russo

There were a few other Kirill Kaprizov updates that Michael Russo let us in on this afternoon.

• Kaprizov fired his agent… well not really. Apparently, he never officially signed with Dan Milstein, who was facilitating Wild visits with the young Russian star.
• Agent or no agent, Kaprizov is expected to sign with the Wild as soon as everyone can see the sun again.
• Bill Guerin and Kaprizov are best friends, now. They text back and forth all the time and are learning the English and Russian language better (and how to use Google Translate) in the process.
• Because they are best friends now, Guerin isn’t worried about when Kaprizov signs his contract. “There’s no rush to really get it done,” Guerin said. “Like I said, I’m not worried.”

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan