Talks with the future superstar and his representation had reportedly gone cold before he made his way back to the motherland for a friend’s wedding, leading way to reports that the 24-yr-old Russian was flirting with a big money contract and return to CSKA Moscow.

As of now talks with likely Rookie of the yr Kaprizov & @mnwild have gone cold. My understanding is he’s in Moscow and it’s believed CSKA is interested in signing him for KHL & Olympics. @NHL @NHLNetwork #HockeyTwitter

— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) June 18, 2021

Billy Guerin’s Side of the Story

Today, during his press conference regarding Eriksson Ek’s new deal, Guerin was asked about Kirill Kaprizov and the above report, along with questions on just about everything else regarding the franchise this offseason. Billy didn’t mince words while denying all reports of a “Cold War” between the Wild and their Russian star.

In fact, talks are expected to pick back up next week. Why they’d have to pick up, if they never went cold, is a brain teaser I’ll let you figure out.

Guerin says Kaprizov's agent reached out to him yesterday and the two plan to speak next week: "It has not gone cold, contrary to what some people have reported."

Initial talks with Fiala's agent has begun#mnwild

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) July 3, 2021

Eriksson Ek vs. Kaprizov: "Sometimes it takes three days, sometimes it takes three months." It's a process, he says, and he's confident a deal will get done. "This is not abnormal. … We're not above this sort of thing," saying sometimes contracts take time

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) July 3, 2021

The Minnesota Wild still have a lot of work to in the coming months but nothing is more important than retaining the services of Kirill Kaprizov for as long as possible. Fans and the front office really want to see another 8-year deal announced when the dust settles. Anything under five years would be a disappointment.

If Bill Guerin can’t push the term beyond Kaprizov’s entry level negotiating rights (two years) then the contract would be considered a complete failure.

Fiala and Wild Begin Contract Talks

Bill Guerin also announced that he and Kevin Fiala’s agent have begun contract talks as well. With Ek’s deal done, Kaprizov and Fiala sit as the two remaining priorities of this offseason. But with the Wild in desperate need of a center, Fiala’s future remains cloudy.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Welcome to a new and refreshing world for the Minnesota Wild. Yesterday, Bill Guerin and Co waited patiently at pick #9 of the 2020 NHL Draft and it paid off when the drafted Austrian (C) Marco Rossi, who many see as the steal of the first round.

Day 2 brought fireworks before it even got started. Billy wanted an old confidant to come help lead a young team and the Nashville Predators wanted Luke Kunin. So, the Wild traded the latter and brought back (32 yr-old) Nick Bonino and an extra 2nd round pick in return (which they’ve already used wisely — keep reading).

Trade alert ?#mnwild has acquired forward Nick Bonino and the 37th and 70th draft picks in the 2020 #NHLDraft from the @PredsNHL in exchange for forward Luke Kunin and the 101st selection in this year’s draft. pic.twitter.com/QvXrK1Ag5F

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 7, 2020

Nick Bonino is a proven commodity around the NHL and someone who Billy Guerin trusts, from their time together in Pittsburgh. Kunin had been a bit of a disappointment but clearly still held some value. If the Wild didn’t see him as a good fit for what they are trying to build, now was the perfect time to make a deal. If you care about “Z-Score”, then this trade will make sense to you.

The Wild used that extra second round pick on another Russian (and center), Marat Khusnutdinov, who currently plays center in the KHL. Jake Jansen has him as his 20th overall prospect in the entire draft. There’s no other league I feel more confident in picking players from, than the KHL. If youngsters can play there, then there’s a good chance they’ll transition to the NHL successfully too, especially on a team that is already laced with others Russians to help them feel comfortable.

Marek has the rest of this season, and then one more, under KHL contract. According to Russo, he’s excited to come over.

Welcome to the squad, Marat!#mnwild | #NHLDraft | @XcelEnergyMN pic.twitter.com/Cvv06No8HX

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 7, 2020

Bill Guerin and his newly acquired right-hand draft guru, Judd Bracket, used their 3rd pick of the 2020 draft (#39 overall) on yet another prospect who many are labeling, ‘a steal’. This time, it was defenseman, Ryan O’Rourke, who Michael Russo pins as a future captain-type player with a major mean streak. That’s a side of the game the Minnesota Wild have noticeably lacked for a long time. I love the piece HockeyWriters.com did on O’Rourke being the steal of the draft (see excerpt below).

Welcome to the team, Ryan!#mnwild | #NHLDraft | @XcelEnergyMN pic.twitter.com/NGfIwtnV5H

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 7, 2020

Now a little perspective. That smile was a noteworthy thing. Up to that point in the interview, his answers were short and straight to the point. But as soon as we started talking about NHL defensemen and who he models himself after, the mood changed. It was something he takes a lot of pride in.

His answer? Duncan Keith.

I then made an observation to O’Rourke after he mentioned Keith. I said to him you really seem to thrive when you play that in your face style. It was at that point his smile got even bigger. It was then that I knew this player was going to be a pain at the next level in the best way possible.

Whoever drafts O’Rourke is going to get a dependable defenseman who will have no trouble causing headaches for the opposition. But then if his team has the puck, there’s a good chance he’s involved in the scoring. He’s a two-way defenseman that in my mind is not getting nearly enough attention.

Mark Scheig – HockeyWriters.com

There’s no guarantee that any of these moves or draft picks will work out but, in reality, there never is. The Minnesota Wild hired Bill Guerin as general manager, who then surrounded himself with hockey people that are well-respected around the NHL, including someone like Judd Bracket.

When you make highly-coveted (Guerin was) front office hires, you have to trust them to make the right decisions and, from all early signs, Billy has been very smart and strategic about his 2020 bold offseason maneuvers.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The #mnwild, led by leading scorer Kevin Fiala, is in a playoff spot for the first time since December 6.

Paul Fenton was right about Fiala folks.

Even with Bruce Boudreau and Jason Zucker gone, they keep on going.

— Brennan Klak (@nhlupdate) March 6, 2020

Paul Fenton: GM of the Year.

— Dan Barreiro (@DanBarreiroKFAN) March 4, 2020

Nobody tell Paul Fenton but this is very “game breaker-esque”

pic.twitter.com/ISVX9kCRPV

— AJ Fredrickson (@AJ_FREDRICKSON) March 4, 2020

Who would have thought Paul Fenton would be considered by many, as the GM that got away from the Minnesota Wild… We stood, flabbergasted, when he traded away our prized Mikael Granlund for a former top pick who looked like a shell of what many once thought he would be.

It’s true. You don’t have to watch Kevin Fiala for more than a period right now, to realize he is head and shoulders better than what Granlund was. That’s not a knock on Granlund. He’s considered one of the better playmakers in the NHL…. but Kevin Fiala is proving to be on another level.

Look at the video above. The patience and skill it takes to rope-a-dope that puck around the defenseman’s limbs and stick, while waiting for that hair-of-a-second moment, to flick it blocker-side top corner… well, that’s shit we haven’t seen since Marion Gaborik… or maybe ever.

We were praying for something like this when we pictured Kirill Kaprizov in green and red… but now, Kevin Fiala is our mans and Kaprizov still should be too. All of this possible superstar fortune and bright future for the Wild, has me looking outside for a meteor the government hasn’t told us about.

Meanwhile, Paul Fenton is cussing… maybe laughing… sometimes both, as he watches Fiala blossom right before his eyes, as he views from a TV with NHL Pass. Fiala isn’t his only hit either.

Fenton traded away Charlie Coyle, and got Ryan Donato last season, too. This trade looked better than the Granlund/Fiala deal, in the immediate weeks that followed. More recently though, Donato has been buried on the 4th line a lot of nights and guys like Michael Russo of The Athletic, are still scratching their heads as to why.

I’m a proponent of [Donato] getting more ice time. He entered last game seventh in the NHL with 1.49 goals per 60 minutes and no player with 14 goals in the NHL even comes close to his paltry ice time. So, I’m not defending it. I do think Evason really likes the way the Donato-Koivu-Hartman line is going right now, so he doesn’t want to fiddle with it. But he has also explained that he’s trying to work with Donato on his defensive game and has really worked with him on video on being on the right side of the puck in his own zone. But I give this kid credit: Outwardly, he has been patient, mature and professional. Inwardly, I’m sure he too is wondering, “What gives?”

Michael Russo – The Athletic

Fenton’s 2019 draft is looking damn good too, especially now that Matthew Boldy (1st-rounder) has picked it up recently, at Boston College. Adam Beckman (3rd rounder) has been absolutely dominating the WHL, and was the first player in the league to 100 points this season.

Vladislov Firstov was Fenton’s 2nd round pick and he is 3rd in points for UConn, in his freshman season, and has won the Hockey East Rookie of the Week multiple times. Hunter Jones was the Wild’s other 3rd-round pick in 2019 and he is killing it in the CHL, posting a 2.79 GAA in 48 games. He just saved 40 shots the other night, for his 4th shutout of the season and 30th win.

Paul Fenton was the mad hockey genius he always claimed to be… and he didn’t give a fuck who didn’t see it. He had a plan to get a couple of guys he wanted, and he was going to get them, no matter the cost.

Why? Because he knew what we didn’t. They were undiscovered talent just waiting to be tapped, especially Kevin Fiala. We were the ones who were stupid to think that incoming talent would immediately produce, in ways they hadn’t yet in their young careers. We weren’t willing to give Paul’s dream the proper amount of time to come into fruition.

Well, Paul Fenton being the biggest asshole to strut through Xcel Energy Center since Marion Gaborik, might have affected his longevity in Minnesota, too…

A word on Paul Fenton RE: Kevin Fiala.

The fact that Kevin Fiala is developing into a star before our eyes and that Fenton made a good trade doesn’t change the fact the Fenton treated his staff horribly and managed the team unprofessionally. #mnwild

— Brett Marshall ? (@B_Marsh92) March 4, 2020

Billy Guerin embracing this organization with his stern, but fatherly love over the past few months, probably has a lot to do with the looseness the Wild are playing with, as well. That’s before we even get into the coaching change.

So, let’s give Paul Fenton his due. He knew what we didn’t about Kevin Fiala. But, we shouldn’t feel regret for the relatively quick trigger Craig Leipold pulled, when he moved on from Fenton, just 14 months after he first hired him.

There is a reason why the Nashville Predators cherished Paul Fenton so much. He clearly knows his hockey and he knows talent. He proved that in the short time he was here, and we’ll probably see it continue to unfold before our eyes…

Paul Fenton is that rebound girlfriend who was meant to be. She came in, straightened out your life a little bit and was definitely right about a few of the things she pointed out (boldly) while you were together…… but, she was kind of a bitch and even looking back now, that toxic relationship was never going to last much longer than it did.

Billy is our future. He’s the man we never knew we needed, until he was here…. but we should start looking back a little more fondly on what Paul Fenton did for this franchise.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Wow… who watched the Minnesota Wild play last night?

All of the coverage leading up to this game over the last week, screamed desperation.

They were coming off of another week-long break; one they all claimed to need so badly, with their immediate careers were on the line. Trade rumors are flying all over the light and dark web, regarding players like Jason Zucker, Jonas Brodin, Matt Dumba or anyone else NOT named Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, or Mikko Koivu; who either have terrible contracts that nobody wants OR have no-move clauses.

Oh, and since this is the NHL… the playoffs were still attainable.

With all of that to play for, the Wild were expected to come out of the gates with flames shooting out of their assholes last night… loaded to the sphincter with fight and try-hard…

Then, the game started… and we were reminded VERY quickly that the Wild just aren’t very good… and never really play desperate.

One good thing came out of last nigh though…. Knowledge. Sometimes, what you learn in a loss can be a lot more productive than what you may have gained from a win.

Entering last night, The Wild were in the worst place an NHL team can be… They were in limbo. We now wake up on Sunday morning, with conviction.

It’s time for new General Manager, Billy Guerin, to give up on this Minnesota Wild team. It became very apparent vs Boston, to those who weren’t already sure, that this team isn’t good enough to make the playoffs, let alone make a legitimate Stanley Cup run.

That means, it’s #TankSZN and #TradeSZN for the Wild and fans are about to find out what kind of GM, Billy Guerin is going to be. Winning and losing in 2019-20 is no longer important (actually, losing is kind of important).

Preparing for 2020-21 and the arrival of Kirill Kaprizov is what’s now top-of-mind. Figuring out how to shed the consistent underperformance of this franchise year-in and year-out is what matters now.

#TradeSZN

Yes, #TradeSZN is now open for the Minnesota Wild, but as Michael Russo of The Athletic has pointed out many times (most recently this morning), that doesn’t mean Billy is up against a wall, to make a trade before the Feb. 24 deadline.

In the NHL, the trade deadline is often used to deal expiring contracts to teams who need rentals for a playoff push. That’s not what the Wild have. Zucker, Dumba, Brodin, and just about every other Wild trade asset, is under contract with years left.

The only negative with waiting to deal, could come in the form of wins. If Zucker, Dumba, Brodin, etc. help the Wild win games, they also keep them from moving up the 2020 NHL Draft board.

However, I’m here typing this right now because those players haven’t been able to produce wins consistently all season… so keeping them on the roster might not make the team that much better.

If the right deal presents itself, I expect Billy to jump at it. Just remember though, he doesn’t need to make any deals until the offseason, when offers are likely to be better.

#TankSZN

If the season ended right now, the Wild would be in the #7 spot, entering the NHL Draft Lottery. The last time the Wild had a 1st-round draft pick as high as #7 was in 2012.

They took Matt Dumba.

Just like their Winter pro partners, the Minnesota Timberwolves, we have officially entered the part of a losing season for the Minnesota Wild, where losses are better for the team, than wins.

It’s going to be impossible to catch Detroit, who’s tanking skills are enviable, but everyone else in the league is less than 10 points behind the Wild. Imagine having a #2 pick to introduce next to Kaprizov this offseason….

Now that would be excitement this fan base hasn’t seen in years.

via GIPHY

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan