There is not a player in the National Hockey League that is as loved today as the Minnesota Wild's Kirill Kaprizov. With the Russian star taking advantage of a rising salary cap and changing market, his contract extension today just raised the bar for what future NHL contracts look like.
Pay day's for stud players on future deals just got a whole lot richer thanks to this deal. At $17 million per season, Kaprizov's contract is the richest in NHL history. And it will impact the market moving forward for a plethora of other top players waiting on contract signings.
Via insider Pierre LeBrun, the list of players in particular this deal will most likely affect is a massive one that will have quite the ripple effect across the league.
The impact of Kaprizov's contract
The players in question that LeBrun name dropped as ones to watch in the near future with impending deals are Jack Eichel, Kyle Connor, Adrian Kempe, Alex Tuch and Martin Necas. McDavid was also mentioned, but his situation is a "unicorn" compared to the rest.
These players' agents are likely rubbing their hands together at this current moment with respect to the potential deals that will be on the table in negotiations. The Kaprizov contract has set the standard for a shifting NHL marketplace with richer deals in the future probable.
NHL GM's on the other hand will look at this Kaprizov deal nervously as this complicates future contract discussions with their own premier players moving forward. This will be a fascinating development to watch unfold with a 2026 UFA class loaded with talent.