Wild sign Kirill Kaprizov to record-breaking $136 million extension originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Kirill Kaprizov can skate to the bank.

The Russian forward signed a record-breaking contract extension with the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday worth $136 million across eight years.

The deal is the richest in NHL history in total money and average annual value ($17 million). Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin held the previous record for total money ($124 million) and Edmonton Oilers All-Star Leon Draisaitl held the previous record for AAV ($14 million).

Kaprizov will play the 2025-26 season on the final year of the five-year, $45 million contract he signed with the Wild in 2021. His new extension will kick in with the 2026-27 season.

The eight-year deal will be one of the last in the NHL, as the league’s new collective bargaining agreement will limit players re-signing with their own teams to seven-year maximums. Free agents joining new teams can sign for a maximum of six years.

The Wild selected Kaprizov in the fifth round of the 2015 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut in January 2021 and went on to win the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s top rookie. In 2021-22, he set team records in single-season goals (47) and points (108) and earned the first of three straight All-Star appearances.

Kaprizov notched 25 goals and 31 assists across 41 games in 2024-25 before a lower-body injury cut his season short.

The Wild open the 2025-26 regular season against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, Oct. 9, as they look to win their first playoff series since 2014-15.

Wild sign Kirill Kaprizov to record-breaking $136 million extension originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Kirill Kaprizov can skate to the bank.

The Russian forward signed a record-breaking contract extension with the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday worth $136 million across eight years.

The deal is the richest in NHL history in total money and average annual value ($17 million). Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin held the previous record for total money ($124 million) and Edmonton Oilers All-Star Leon Draisaitl held the previous record for AAV ($14 million).

Kaprizov will play the 2025-26 season on the final year of the five-year, $45 million contract he signed with the Wild in 2021. His new extension will kick in with the 2026-27 season.

The eight-year deal will be one of the last in the NHL, as the league’s new collective bargaining agreement will limit players re-signing with their own teams to seven-year maximums. Free agents joining new teams can sign for a maximum of six years.

The Wild selected Kaprizov in the fifth round of the 2015 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut in January 2021 and went on to win the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s top rookie. In 2021-22, he set team records in single-season goals (47) and points (108) and earned the first of three straight All-Star appearances.

Kaprizov notched 25 goals and 31 assists across 41 games in 2024-25 before a lower-body injury cut his season short.

The Wild open the 2025-26 regular season against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, Oct. 9, as they look to win their first playoff series since 2014-15.

The Buffalo Sabres are embarking on their 56th season and have a storied history, but that proud record has been sullied recently by a 14-year playoff drought. The club has 15 players who have been inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and many others that deserve recognition. Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at players in Sabres history by their jersey number, ranking the top three players to wear that particular number. 

#1 - Eight players have worn this number in the history of the Sabres 

Third:  Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen - The Sabres current starter was selected 54th overall in 2017, won the OHL’s Most Valuable Player award and a World Junior Championship with Finland in 2019, and has posted a 71-65-15 record in three-plus seasons with Buffalo. 

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Second: Don Edwards - Edwards began his Sabres career at age 21, replacing veteran Al Smith as the backup for Gerry Desjardins in 1976-77. He became the full-time starter the next season after Desjardins was injured and led the NHL with 38 victories. The bulk of his career was as a tandem partner with Bob Sauve, who won the Vezina Trophy in 1980. Edwards is third on the Sabres all-time victories list with 156, behind only Ryan Miller and Dominik Hasek.  

First: Roger Crozier - Crozier won the Calder Trophy and was the first player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy in a losing Stanley Cup Final effort with Detroit in 1966. Bouts of chronic pancreatitis kept him out for long stretches with the Red Wings, and in 1970, he was traded to the expansion Sabres. 

In spite of continuing health issues, he played 107 games in the club’s first two seasons, but Crozier led the Sabres to their first playoff appearance in 1973, and in Buffalo’s run to the Stanley Cup Final in 1975, he went 17-2-1, with a 2.62 GAA. He finished his Sabres career with a 74-76-29 record. 

The Chicago Blackhawks are at the halfway point of training camp. One week from today, they will be in Sunrise to take on the Florida Panthers in their first game of the season. Florida will raise their second straight Stanley Cup banner while the Blackhawks continue to try and build to become a team like that again. 

Halfway through preseason, there are a lot of things to be figured out. Who is going to fill out the lineup at forward and defense? Who will earn what role? There are three more games, all at home, and a handful of practices to go before things will be truly set. 

The truth is also that the decisions made for opening night can be changed for every game after. A lot of young players are going to be in and out of the lineup throughout the season. 

When the Hawks do reach opening night, however, you can expect the lineup to look something like this: 

Andre Burakovsky - Connor Bedard - Ryan Donato

Teuvo Teravainen - Frank Nazar - Tyler Bertuzzi

Colton Dach - Jason Dickinson - Ilya Mikheyev

Nick Foligno - Lukas Reichel - Landon Slaggert

Extra - Sam Lafferty, Oliver Moore

This would mean that the Blackhawks start Ryan Greene in the AHL and that Landon Slaggert is healthy enough to go on opening night. Oliver Moore could draw in, but it is hard to place where he'd fit in with these lines over guys who clearly earned spots. 

Colton Dach brings something to this group that they don't have much of, which is grit, tenacity, and toughness. He is not afraid to get in someone's face if he feels it necessary. 

Sam Lafferty, in his third tenure on the team, will probably make the team, but he won't be in the lineup regularly. He'll for sure play, but keeping younger players out in his favor every night would not be wise for the development plan. 

Although he has been in trade rumors, Lukas Reichel should be in (at minimum) a bottom-six role as long as he's in the organization. He has looked good in recent preseason games, and he has a huge final week of camp ahead of him to cement that role. 

If this ended up being the top six, it wouldn't be all that surprising to anyone. Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar, although young, deserve the opportunity to work as a two-headed monster down the middle. There are some good wings on each of their lines to help them. 

Alex Vlasic - Sam Rinzel

Wyatt Kaiser - Artyom Levhunov

Nolan Allan - Connor Murphy

Extra: Louis Crevier

There are five defensemen on the Chicago Blackhawks who are locks to make the team if healthy. Some of them came in feeling like they needed to prove themselves, but there is no doubt that Alex Vlasic, Sam Rinzel, Wyatt Kaiser, Artyom Levshunov, and Connor Murphy are the five most NHL-ready players in the organization on the blue line. 

Matt Grzelcyk is in camp on a PTO. There is no need for him to make the team over any of the younger players that the Blackhawks have competing for spots. They have Connor Murphy there to be the veteran on the unit, and they don't need a second. 

Jeff Blashill said that Grzelcyk will only make the team if he feels that there isn't a younger player who deserves the spot. Well, there are about three guys who have a case. 

Based on the way he's played through the first half of camp, Nolan Allan deserves that job. Right behind him is Kevin Korchinski, followed by Ethan Del Mastro. Allan's physical presence in their most recent game against the Minnesota Wild serves as a reminder of what he can do when he's out there. 

Kevin Korchinski will get his chances this season. He is mostly relied on to be a puck-mover, but the rest of his game is still coming together. As for Del Mastro, it's been a tough go for him in the games he's played, mostly in a larger role, which may see him get some more seasoning in the AHL to start. If any of these three on the outside looking in have a strong end to the preseason, however, we may be singing a new tune come next week. 

Spencer Knight

Arvid Soderblom

Spencer Knight is going to be the team's number one goalie. This is the first time in his young career that he will enter a season as a true top guy for a team. The prize in the Seth Jones trade for Chicago was Knight, and he's ready to show why. So far in the preseason and camp, he's been brilliant. 

As for the backup spot, Arvid Soderblom came into camp with the edge because he was good in his role last year, but Drew Commesso is coming up fast. Although both played very well up to this point, the Blackhawks ultimately decided to get Commesso down to the Rockford IceHogs to continue in his development. Soderblom will serve as Knight's primary backup.

Can anything change here?

Anything can change with these projected lineups before opening night next Tuesday. Ryan Greene could force the Blackhawks to take him over Oliver Moore or Lukas Reichel. One of the three defenseman left off could force Nolan Allan to begin his season in Rockford. There could be an unforeseen injury that changes everything. 

There are still three preseason games (all at home) to go against the Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota Wild, and St. Louis Blues. That stretch begins on Tuesday against the Wings, which will feature a combination of players fighting for the final spots and roster locks. 

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