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Avalanche on high alert after report suggests rival may have made a franchise-altering mistake


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Marshall Stinson
October 10, 2025  (9:10 PM)
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Oct 9, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov (97) shoots against St. Louis Blues center Nick Bjugstad (77) during the third period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Photo credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The NHL was put on notice when one of the Colorado Avalanche's biggest rivals, the Minnesota Wild, signed star forward Kirill Kaprizov to a massive contract extension.

Kaprizov signed a contract for a average AAV of $17M, and it could end up being a big mistake down the road.

Kirill Kaprizov deal could spell disaster for the Minnesota Wild.

Sean O'Leary of The Score reported on Kaprizov's signing, noting that while he's a star, the deal seems a bit over the top compared to other recent signings.
"Kaprizov inked an eight-year contract featuring a league-high $17 million average annual value Sept. 30. Since then, Connor McDavid ($12.5 million AAV), Kyle Connor ($12 million), and Jack Eichel ($13.5 million) have re-upped with their respective squads without coming close to Kaprizov's cap hit." -O'Leary

While McDavid signed only a two-year deal, likely paving the way for a larger contract soon, Eichel and Connor are both considered top-tier players in the league.
Eichel, a Stanley Cup champion, signed for significantly less than Kaprizov, while Connor scored 97 points last season and earns $5 million less per year than Kaprizov.
Despite this, GM Bill Guerin says he doesn't regret the deal one bit.
"Look, everybody's got a price to where they want to play in their market, and Kirill is worth that to us. He's that important to us," Guerin told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. "And we couldn't take the chance of letting him go. That's great for those other teams, but it's still great for us that we have him for nine years. And yeah, Jack is at $13.5 million, and that's great. But Kirill is that important to us. If we let him go or we even flirt with it, who knows? The worst-case scenario is definitely that he leaves. It's worse than paying him $17 million." -O'Leary

Is Kaprizov really worth the money though?
The Toronto Maple Leafs ran into this problem of having 4 star players cover over half their cap space, and it has led to no success for the team over recent years.
The Wild are heading in that direction with Kaprizov's new contract.
There are players arguably better than him signing for significantly less, or the option to sign two very good players at $9M AAV to spread the wealth. Only time will tell if Kaprizov is truly worth the money.
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Avalanche on high alert after report suggests rival may have made a franchise-altering mistake

Is Kirill Kaprizov worth $17M per year in your opinion?


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