Wild GM Bill Guerin on Kirill Kaprizov, Marco Rossi and why there might not be a big splash July 1

New York Times

26-06-2025

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Brinks truck pulled up to Minnesota Wild headquarters around 11:30 a.m. Thursday. Two armed men walked in, one holding a bag of cash.
With five days until the Wild are allowed to sign Kirill Kaprizov to the biggest extension in franchise history — one that would make the star one of the highest-paid players in the NHL — the obvious joke was that the officers were delivering the organization the funds to get the deal done.
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Well, not quite yet.
The money was actually for the restaurant in the building's lobby, which happens to be owned by Wild owner Craig Leipold.
But, as of now, the team hasn't completely dug into negotiations yet with Kaprizov's representatives on what they hope will be a long-term extension. President of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin said it would surprise him if it gets hammered out by Tuesday but reiterated what he has said for months — that he remains fully confident that in getting Kaprizov locked up well beyond the final year of his contract next season.
'We don't have to sign him on July 1,' Guerin said. 'We'd like to get it done as soon as we can. I'd love to do that. These things take time. They're complicated deals, and there's a lot to them. So, if it doesn't happen on July 1, don't panic. Don't panic. It's a process.'
Guerin's current focus ahead of this weekend's draft is the trade market, then free agency, which begins Tuesday.
On Thursday, the Wild traded Freddy Gaudreau to the Seattle Kraken for a fourth-round pick. The loss of a center seems to make it less likely that they will trade Marco Rossi after weeks of scouring the market. Guerin maintains he doesn't want to make his team worse, so he'd want an equivalent forward in return.
That has not materialized so far, meaning the two sides may have to get back to the negotiating table to try to iron out a contract they're both comfortable with.
There is one pressure point, however, and that's that Rossi is eligible to sign an offer sheet with another team as early as Tuesday. Guerin has never seemed overly concerned about that.
Asked if this is the type of negotiation that could last the summer with training camp not set to begin until Sept. 18, Guerin quipped, 'Doesn't have to be.'
'Hey, look, we like Marco,' Guerin said. 'Like, Marco's a good player. He had a good season. He's a good teammate. There's this funny narrative out there that I — we — don't like him. That's not the case. We like Marco. He's a good player. He played in our top six all year long. And he produced.
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'For a player in his position, this is pretty normal. I mean, I went through this as a player, too. This is not anything new. Just like Kirill, there is a process, and we don't have to rush into anything. It just takes time.'
The one complication here is that Rossi doesn't have the right to file for salary arbitration, so the only way this will get solved is if the Wild and Rossi's agent, Ian Pulver, come to an agreement. Right now, there's a large gap between what the sides feel he's worth on short-, mid- and long-term contracts.
The irony? Guerin had multiple contract disputes in his playing career, and in his one salary arbitration, it was Pulver who represented his case in his previous role with the NHL Players' Association.
'I understand both sides very well,' Guerin said. 'As a player, you know it's enough money, but you're competitive, right? That's why you're good. That's why you're in this league. You're competitive with your peers, you want to be treated a certain way, you feel like you deserve a certain amount, or whatever. And, I get that. Yeah, I get that.
'It's emotional. But being on this side now, I have a business to run. I have a structure that we're following. … So the one thing I did have to learn as a player, too, and I did learn it as I got older, and I definitely know it now, none of this is personal. It's just business. You just got to grind it out sometimes.'
As Guerin put it regarding teams' interest in Rossi: 'People have called. But, like I said, I'm not rushing that kid out of town, that's for damn sure.'
Here were other takeaways from Thursday's Guerin availability.
Guerin said at the end of the season that upgrading at the center position was his top priority, and that was before Thursday's Gaudreau trade.
Judging from what he's seen on the market, it could be more likely that he addresses the position via trade than free agency. Some of the top unrestricted free agents have already signed — including Brock Nelson (Colorado Avalanche), Jonathan Toews (Winnipeg Jets) and Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene (Dallas Stars). Sam Bennett seems intent on staying with the Florida Panthers, and John Tavares hopes to remain with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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The problem, however, is the market, where there aren't many sellers.
'It's definitely a strange year,' Guerin said. 'All of a sudden, all 32 teams want to get better. All the GMs are saying the same thing, so it's actually kind of funny. It's a pretty lean marketplace. The thing about trades is, you have to give up something to get something. Whether we're all willing to do that at some point in time is another thing.'
While they have shown interest in right-shot centers like the New York Islanders' J-G Pageau and the Avalanche's Charlie Coyle in the trade market, it's also expected that the Wild will try to sign a bottom-six center in free agency who can help in the faceoff circle and on the penalty kill. Some players who may qualify are Sean Kuraly, Radek Faksa, Nico Sturm, Colin Blackwell, Luke Kunin and Nick Bjugstad.
The Wild could also pursue an upgrade on the wing in free agency. Brock Boeser and Patrick Kane are among the players who could be of interest there.
The way Guerin was talking, though, it certainly seems like he could be preparing fans for a July 1 without many fireworks.
While the Wild do finally have some cap space to play with — around $17.7 million after the Gaudreau trade — they know they could also use that for in-season moves next season, too. This is something the Wild weren't able to do last season, when they spent more than half the year in LTIR.
'I've made mistakes and I'll make more, but I'm trying to limit them,' Guerin said. 'I don't want to get into contracts we really regret. You like everybody at certain price points. You have to have some discipline. The important thing for us — we're coming out of the empty cap hits, but it's not just for July 1.
'There are trades that happened in the season or at the deadline — bigger things that we couldn't get involved in because of our empty cap hits. Those are gone now. Going forward, we'll be able to be in those discussions.'
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While Leipold said before the season that July 1 could be like their 'Christmas morning,' it appears the Wild could end up spreading those presents out.
'That's the thing: You don't want to go out on Day 1 and blow your brains out just to say you did something,' Guerin said. 'We don't want to make mistakes. If the guys are there that we want, we'll do it. But moving forward, we'll be able to be involved in other things. To me, that is just as important as July 1.'
Guerin said it was a difficult call telling Gaudreau that he was traded, noting what a great person and reliable player he's been with the Wild. But Guerin indicated that this was a move to create flexibility for July 1.
Gaudreau carried a $2.1 million cap hit for each of the next three seasons. Seattle showed interest, and the move had been in the works for a couple of weeks.
'There's always that human element to it,' Guerin said. 'And Freddy is one of those guys that everybody loves. He's a good player, and more than that, he's a good person.'
Guerin said the Wild could get involved in free agency when it comes to goalie depth. They could use an experienced No. 3 in case of injuries to Filip Gustavsson or Jesper Wallstedt. Guerin said that doesn't indicate lack of confidence in Gustavsson or Wallstedt, who has admitted he's coming off a 'terrible' season.
'We just need another guy,' Guerin said.
It's #NHLDraft week, and #mnwild director of amateur scouting Judd Brackett covered a ton about team's philosophy, past picks, prospects + more. Is there more pressure to hit on 2nd rounder with no 1st or 3rd this year?Story: https://t.co/CgSAkQZJatPod: https://t.co/ppSUI23JIV pic.twitter.com/tu0zIWbwNe
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) June 23, 2025
The Wild won't have a first-round pick Friday for the first time in eight years, but Guerin doesn't feel pressure to add one. They feel they already got their first-rounder in former No. 6 pick David Jiricek, acquired for this year's first-round pick and several others back in November.
'It's not a priority, but I'm not against it either,' Guerin said. 'The biggest thing for this draft, not having a first-rounder, we feel we already picked and got David Jiricek. He was a very high pick, so we're comfortable with where we are. If there's an opportunity to get in the first round without weakening our team, that's definitely something we would take a look at.'
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Guerin did say that Jiricek, whose season ended due to a lacerated spleen, is healthy now and working out in St. Paul, where he'll be for a chunk of the summer. Guerin said top prospect Zeev Buium, who headlines next week's development camp, will also spend a lot of time in Minnesota this offseason.
(Photo of Kirill Kaprizov and Marco Rossi: Justin Berl / Getty Images)