Wild sign Russian star Kirill Kaprizov to 5-year, $45 million contract

Sep. 22—At long last, the Kirill Kaprizov contract saga has come to an end.

After a back-and-forth negotiation process — and that's putting it lightly — the Wild inked the 24-year-old Russian star to a 5-year, $45 million contract on Tuesday night.

The news comes less than 24 hours before the Wild report to training camp.

A source told the Pioneer Press that Kaprizov is in North America and will indeed be in Minnesota on Wednesday. He will be able to practice on Thursday, thus there should be no issue with him being ready for the Oct. 15 season opener.

Not long after the Wild made the deal official on their Twitter account, Kaprizov took to Instagram, posting a picture on his feed with the caption, "Let's go."

Wild general manager Bill Guerin was not immediately made available for comment. He is scheduled to talk to reporters on Wednesday afternoon.

As for Kaprizov, whenever he talked to reporters will mark the first time anyone has heard from him since last season. He was not available after winning the Calder Trophy this offseason because he was on a fishing trip in Siberia without Internet access.

This contract for Kaprizov runs through the 2025-26 season and instantly makes him the highest paid player in franchise history. His deal carries an average annual value of $9 million, topping captain Jared Spurgeon, whose contract carries an average annual value of $7.575 million.

While that might seem like a lot of money for a guy that has played only 55 games in the NHL, there's no doubt Kaprizov earned a big pay day with his play last season. And the Wild absolutely had to get something done at some point.

There's a legitimate argument to be made that Kaprizov is already the most talented player the Wild organization has ever seen.

He won the Calder Trophy last season after an incredible rookie campaign that saw him score a team-high 27 goals to go along with 24 assists. In fact, Kaprizov was so dominant that he garnered 99 of 100 first-place votes from the Professional Hockey Writers Association, the highest percentage of first-place votes in Calder Trophy balloting since 1992-93.

As pretty much every Wild fan knows by now, it took some time for Kaprizov to come over from his native Russia after being drafted in the fifth round of the 2015 draft. That said, it's safe to say he has more than lived up to the hype.

That's something Kaprizov did pretty much as soon as he stepped on the ice for the Wild. He scored the game-winner in overtime of his NHL debut against the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 14. It was a storybook beginning to his NHL career, and he kept his foot on the gas pedal the rest of the way.

In the process, he captured the heart of Wild fans everywhere.

His stellar performance as a rookie gave Kaprizov and his agent Paul Theofanous some leverage heading into this offseason. Though it was widely reported that Guerin hoped to agree upon a long-term deal — perhaps a max eight-year deal if possible — Kaprizov was said to be in favor of a short-term deal.

Both sides met somewhere in the middle to get the deal done.

Now the key for Kaprizov will be proving it night in and night out. He's being paid like one of the best players in the league and will be expected to perform like one of the best players in the league.