Latest news with #CraigLeipold
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Minnesota Wild Threatening to Leave St. Paul? Mayor Concerned…
The Minnesota Wild have a lot of decisions to make over the coming months and years. On the ice, with the Parise/Suter cap penalties mostly off the books, president of hockey operations Bill Guerin has no more excuses. He must now build a Stanley Cup roster around superstar Kirill Kaprizov, assuming the Wild are able to ink him to a long-term contract this offseason. Beyond roster management, a peak behind the curtain will reveal much more concerning problems inside the MN Wild organization. Advertisement Craig Leipold, who has owned the Wild since 2008, has spent the past year or two trying to convince local and state politicians to fund massive renovations of the newly renamed Grand Casino Arena (formerly Xcel Energy Center), which hasn't seen a lot of upgrades since it was built 25 years ago. Related Headlines Grand Casino Arena - St. Paul Unfortunately, Leipold's pleading with public officials has fallen on deaf government ears. As of now, neither the City of St. Paul nor the State of Minnesota appear interested in stepping up to support Craig's arena renovation dreams. Minnesota Wild 'irate' over lack of support for Grand Casino Arena renovations Publicly, the Minnesota Wild's owner has kept mostly to himself, regarding the lack of support he's received from his 'friends' in local government. Behind the scenes, however, Leipold is not happy, writes . Advertisement How mad is he? According to longtime Pioneer Press columnist, Charley Walters, Craig Leipold is 'livid'. In fact, the longer this drags out, the more likely it becomes that the Minnesota Wild move their home out of the capital city and out into a suburb, like Eagan or Bloomington. Don't think the Wild aren't livid about the State Legislature's recent rejection to fund a renovation of its 25-year-old arena. The NHL wouldn't allow owner Craig Leipold to move the Wild out of Minnesota, but probably wouldn't oppose a move to Bloomington — former home of the North Stars — or Eagan. Don't think a move isn't a possibility if St. Paul doesn't realize the value of the Wild enough to upgrade its arena. Charley Walters – Pioneer Press Related: Schism Between MN Wild and Marco Rossi is Not Getting Better I cannot blame Craig Leipold for holding a grudge against the current sports-hating bureaucracy calling shots for both metropolitan cities in Minnesota. We are talking about an arena that was built nearly three decades ago. And for those saying Leipold should pay for his own renovations, it's important to note that while he may own the Minnesota Wild, he does not own Grand Casino Arena. That is owned and operated by the City of St. Paul. Advertisement St. Paul Mayor worried the Wild could leave town Looking for answers, Charley Walters dialed up the Mayor of St. Paul, Melvin Carter, and asked him if he is concerned about the Wild leaving. His answer summed up: 'Yup, I sure am…' 'We're definitely concerned about that possibility. We don't take them for granted. So far, we've been working really closely with the team. It's not something we see as an acute threat right now.' St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter (via the Pioneer Press) If the Minnesota Wild wind up leaving St. Paul, there are a number of Twin Cities suburbs that would love to build an NHL arena for Craig Leipold, even beyond Eagan and Bloomington. Unlike the capital city, most surrounding towns know exactly what hosting an NHL venue means for the local economy. I'm not saying the Wild are a serious threat to leave St. Paul tomorrow, or anytime in the imminent future. But if local politicians do not get on board with funding the renovations Leipold is seeking… then it's very possible our capital won't have an NHL arena much longer. Advertisement Related Headlines
New York Times
30-06-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Wild free-agency primer: What centers and wingers could Minnesota pursue?
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Bill Guerin has been tempering expectations all week about the Minnesota Wild's free-agency plans, and for good reason. The president of hockey operations and GM sees what everyone else does: The trade market is 'quiet' and the free-agent crop is very lean, to put it kindly, as most teams have cap space, want to get better and are keeping their own guys. One by one, they've gone off the market, from John Tavares to Sam Bennett to Claude Giroux. Advertisement Guerin doesn't want to blow all of his $17.7 million in cap space in one day, knowing how useful it can be in making impactful moves next season. After years of dead cap hits from Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, the Wild will finally be 'in the game,' as Guerin puts it, for big-name trade hunting. But the Wild do need, and plan, to sign some players on Tuesday's opening day of free agency, notably a bottom-six center/faceoff guy and scoring winger, along with a third goalie to play in Iowa but be NHL insurance. Guerin also indicated that he may look for a depth defenseman after trading Declan Chisholm on Saturday, and with Jonas Brodin likely to miss the start of the season. Free agency won't likely be splashy, or 'like Christmas' as owner Craig Leipold had hoped last fall, but there's still some work to be done. And the problem is that there are going to be many teams going after the same people. 'That's the thing: with the cap going up, everybody has space, everybody is going for players, everyone is trying to improve,' Guerin said. 'It's a much different offseason than we're used to.' Here are the Wild's needs and potential targets: The Wild's biggest need going into the offseason was upgrading their center position, with Guerin saying he wanted to get some help for Joel Eriksson Ek. Well, Minnesota traded veteran Freddy Gaudreau last week to Seattle for a fourth-round pick they used on Saturday, and there's still uncertainty surrounding restricted free agent Marco Rossi, who could very well end up re-signing but is eligible to receive offer sheets as early as Tuesday. As of Sunday night at least, there had been no contract talks between the two sides in nearly three weeks, according to multiple league sources. And whatever the Wild do in free agency, they'll have to leave space to sign Rossi or match an offer sheet. Advertisement Still, Minnesota needs help up the middle. As well as Ryan Hartman played in the playoffs, and as much promise as touted prospect Danila Yurov brings, there's some uncertainty at a very important position. All the big-name centers are off the board at this point, and the Wild's main goal will be finding a third- or fourth-line center who can win draws and kill penalties. Plus, they'll pursue potential depth centers, like perhaps former Minnesota Mr. Hockey Riley Tufte. It's hard to believe it has been six years since Sturm made his NHL debut for the Wild after choosing Minnesota over several other suitors as a free agent out of Clarkson. But after being traded to the Colorado Avalanche in March 2022, Sturm won a Stanley Cup with Colorado and earlier this month with Florida. STANLEY CUP CHAMPION!! Nico Sturm becomes the 2nd Golden Knight to hoist the Stanley Cup twice! Congratulations to Nico and the Panthers on a great run! — Clarkson Men's Hockey (@ClarksonMHockey) June 18, 2025 Now 30, the 6-foot-3 hard forechecker can kill penalties, skates terrifically and is one of the best faceoff guys in the NHL. His faceoff percentage was 58.8 last season, fifth-best in the NHL for centers with a minimum of 422 draws. He's coming off a $2 million average annual value. Sturm was traded for Tyson Jost by Guerin not long after he turned down a five-year extension in the $2.5 million range, per team sources. But that was a different stage of Sturm's career, and Sturm, who lives in the Twin Cities with his fiancee, said he would consider the Wild in free agency. 'The winter before I got traded for Colorado, I think I was in a place where I tried to explore whether I could be more than a fourth-line center,' Sturm said last week. 'It ended up not turning out that way. I think this is what I'm really, really good at. This is the player that I am, that I'm going to be the rest of my career. Advertisement 'But I think at that point, I was three, four years into my career. I didn't see at the time with the guys that were ahead of me in the lineup and how many minutes I played that I was going to get that chance (to be more). So obviously contract negotiations about an extension at that point fell apart, but it was never because I didn't like the team, the setup or anything like that. I obviously love Minnesota. It's the reason I live there now in my offseason, and you get treated extremely well by the organization. So it was just a career decision at the time. I got nothing but good things to say about Minnesota and the Wild. It's definitely a team that I'd consider signing with. It's my home now.' Evolving-Hockey contract projection: 1 year, $1.013 million; 2 years, $1.171 million; 3 years, $1.48 million This wouldn't be the first time the Wild are after Dvorak. Less than a month into the job as GM in 2018, Paul Fenton offered the Phoenix Coyotes Jason Zucker and Nino Niederreiter for Dvorak and Christian Fischer, according to league sources. It fell apart because the cash-strapped Coyotes didn't want to assume more than $10 million (Zucker was arbitration-eligible and would ultimately re-sign with the Wild that summer at $5.5 million per, and Niederreiter had four years left at $5.25 million) while only giving the Wild $4 million in players. While Dvorak, 29, has certainly not turned into the offensive dynamo people expected when he scored 56 goals and 121 points in his final year with the London Knights, he's a perennial 30-point-per-year producer who's an excellent penalty killer and is consistently one of the best players in the league on the draw. Since 2017-18, he's 54 percent from the circle. He's coming off a $4.45 million AAV. Evolving-Hockey contract projection: 2 years, $3.017 million; 3 years, $3.816 million; 4 years, $4.237 million; 5 years, $4.878 million Kuraly, 32, the former Boston Bruins Stanley Cup champion, spent the past four seasons with the Blue Jackets. He's strong on the faceoff, boasting a 54.3 percent rate last season (31st best in the NHL, minimum 543 draws). Short-handed, he's at 45.5 percent, having averaged 54 seconds of short-handed time on ice per game. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound left-shot center has the kind of size the Wild would be looking for, too. (Imagine him on a forecheck with Yakov Trenin.) Kuraly is known to be a tremendous culture guy and is coming off a contract with a $2.5 million cap hit. Evolving-Hockey contract projection: 3 years, $1.932 million; 4 years, $3.062 million Advertisement Blackwell, 32, was with the Dallas Stars this past season, though he was mostly a healthy scratch during the playoffs as part of a deep forward group. He had an OT winner early in the playoffs. The 5-8, 190-pound right-shot is scrappy, a strong skater and good in the dot. Blackwell spent a good chunk of his time on the penalty kill with the Stars' fourth-best PK in the NHL (1:54 average penalty-kill TOI). It helped that Blackwell boasts a 49 percent win rate on faceoffs, both overall and short-handed. He doesn't move the needle offensively and likely maxes out at a 4C, but that's what the Wild need at this point. Blackwell would probably be cheap, coming off a contract with a $775,000 cap hit. Evolving-Hockey contract projection: 1 year, $885,600; 2 years, $1.291 million; 3 years, $1.834 million The longtime Stars center played one year with the St. Louis Blues last year, where he racked up a 57 percent faceoff win rate, tied for ninth-best in the NHL. He was a key penalty killer, averaging 1 minute, 18 seconds short-handed, though St. Louis did struggle on the PK (28th in NHL at 74.2 percent). His contract had a cap hit of $3.25 million, so that would have to drop a good chunk to fit in what the Wild are thinking for this spot. One possible connection is that Guerin has a terrific relationship with his agent, Allan Walsh, who represented retired goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and currently represents prospects David Jiricek and recently drafted Adam Benak. Evolving-Hockey contract projection: 1 year, $1.302 million; 2 years, $1.963 million; 3 years, $2.01 million. Also watching: Lars Eller, Nick Bjugstad, Luke Glendening The Wild put their best foot forward in an offer to pry JJ Peterka from the Buffalo Sabres, but the restricted free agent got dealt to the Utah Mammoth. Minnesota could use support on the wings in the top six to provide balance if Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov are put together on a line again, like they were in a dynamic playoff performance. Again, there are not a ton of options (at least currently) on the market, and those that are will get plenty of attention from other teams. Advertisement It feels like the Wild are always linked with Boeser, the Burnsville native who has been a very reliable goal scorer the past nine seasons with Vancouver, including scoring 40 goals two seasons ago. Minnesota wanted to acquire him at the deadline a couple of years ago, but the cap space wasn't there. While this would be a great story for the hometown kid to play for the Wild, it's very much not a guarantee. The Wild are interested, but perhaps on a shorter-term deal than others on the market are willing to give him. There are rumblings of other teams, including the Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets, creating space to make a run at him. It could make for a difficult decision for Boeser. Evolving-Hockey contract projection: 3 years, $6.651 million; 4 years, $7.373 million; 5 years, $7.053 million; 6 years, $7.587 million; 7 years, $8.151 million Perry, 40, is still playing at a high level, even though he's nearly two decades removed from his Hart Trophy and Stanley Cup title while with the Ducks. He tallied 10 goals during the Oilers' latest run to the Stanley Cup Final and played minutes alongside Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. He can play anywhere from the top six to the fourth line, still has an edge to his game and boasts strong hands around the net. There was interest from the Wild in previous seasons, including before he signed with Chicago. During a recent interview with Sportsnet's Colby Armstrong, Perry laughed out loud when his son chimed in from the wings that 'Mom' says he's retiring after one more season. Evolving-Hockey contract projection: 1 year, $1.394 million 'It takes a little skill mentally to play with those guys as well.' Corey Perry chats with @armdog about longevity, playing with McDavid and Draisaitl, his drive for another Stanley Cup, and more! FULL ➡️ — Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 13, 2025 After agent Pat Brisson finalized a deal for Giroux to return to Ottawa on Sunday, he turned his attention toward trying to re-sign Kane with the Detroit Red Wings, league sources said. Kane wants to return to Detroit, where it has been a terrific fit. But if he goes to market, the Wild could swoop in and try to sign him over what is bound to be several other suitors. Advertisement The likely future Hall of Famer is 32 points from passing Wild hockey operations adviser Mike Modano for the most points among U.S.-born players in NHL history. Kane, 36, finished fourth on the Red Wings last season with 59 points and scored 12 goals and 29 points on the power play. He's coming off a $4 million cap hit. Evolving-Hockey contract projection: 1 year, $2.985 million The Florida Panthers continue to try to bring the Conn Smythe Trophy runner-up back for a three-peat bid in South Florida, but if he goes to market, the Wild would have tons of competition from several teams, including the Toronto Maple Leafs and his old Bruins. But the one thing those places don't have that Minnesota does? The headquarters of Dairy Queen. The Panthers went undefeated during the Eastern Conference and Stanley Cup Final when Marchand took a group of players to DQ (St. Cloud native Nate Schmidt always paid, for the record). In all seriousness, Marchand, 37, scored some of Florida's biggest goals in the playoffs and six times in the Stanley Cup Final. He can still play, but it will be pricey. One league source said Marchand was looking for a four-year deal in the $8 to $9 million range if he left Florida. He's coming off a $6.125 million AAV. Evolving-Hockey contract projection: 3 years, $7.189 million; 4 years, $7.596 million Coming off a 25-goal, 46-point year with the Canucks, the 29-year-old from Switzerland isn't big at 5-11 and isn't fast, but he's turned into a heck of a player who can slot at wing and center. At wing, he was terrific on a line with Boeser and J.T. Miller this past season in Vancouver and was an elite penalty killer. The former Red Wing has proven solid when put on a line with two skilled players. According to The Athletic's Thomas Drance, his real value is that he 'can play literally anywhere and he'll be good, including helping drive a bottom-six line as a center or helping their best players as a top-line winger.' Advertisement He's coming off a $1.6 million AAV. Evolving-Hockey contract projection: 3 years, $4.021 million; 4 years, $4.651 million Also watching: Nikolaj Ehlers (expensive), Mikael Granlund (the former Wild player would make sense, but the Wild have had ample opportunity to pursue him in the past and haven't under Guerin), Jonathan Drouin, Andrew Mangiapone, Tanner Pearson, Andrei Kuzmenko, Evgenii Dadonov, Max Pacioretty This is like throwing a dart at the board, as is looking at which defensemen the Wild may consider as depth. The criteria here from the Wild's perspective is signing a goalie who they feel would slide through waivers at the end of camp, and from the goalie's perspective, be willing to know they're almost certainly starting in AHL Iowa. Some options include Alex Lyon, Matt Murray, Spencer Martin and Kaapo Kahkonen. (Top photo of Brock Boeser eluding Matt Boldy: Bob Frid / Imagn Images)
New York Times
29-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Free agency, Kirill Kaprizov's future and how new CBA rules could help the Wild keep their superstar
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Bill Guerin continues to fervently voice confidence that the Minnesota Wild will have no problem getting Kirill Kaprizov's contract extended this summer. We're going to trust him, as well as Wild owner Craig Leipold, who again told me a few days ago that Kaprizov's extension will get done. Advertisement We'll trust Kaprizov, too. The last we talked to him, just after the season, the Wild's gamebreaker tried to calm everyone's nerves by saying, 'I love everything here. It should be all good.' Kaprizov said, at the time, that he believes in the Wild's future. Still … this is Minnesota. We worry about everything. Not winning a major men's pro sports championship since the Bush administration (the father, not the son) will do that to you. It gives us an inferiority complex that everybody wants to leave us. Who wouldn't want to play under the bright lights of New York, L.A., Miami and Vegas? So even though Guerin has instructed everybody not to panic if Kaprizov doesn't sign on the dotted line as soon as he's eligible for an extension Tuesday, if Guerin and the Wild can't set off those proverbial fireworks in the first few days of free agency after so far not making any team-altering trades, we do have to wonder — eh, worry — what the heck Kaprizov thinks of all this. Don't, Guerin insisted Saturday. 'I've talked to him a number of times,' Guerin said after the Wild closed their draft with five new prospects in the pipeline. 'I've talked to his agent a number of times. They know the plan. They know what we're trying to do, and we have the same goal, and that's to win. Sometimes it just doesn't happen in one day.' Guerin's actually not talking about winning with that last line. He's talking about adding all the players you want to add. Yes, the Wild have about $17.7 million to spend this offseason, which includes what it'll take to re-sign restricted free agent Marco Rossi. But what he's saying is that with the cap expected to continue to rise in future years, the Wild should have the flexibility to make home-run swings if he and his staff make smart, calculated decisions. As of now, the trade market hasn't materialized the way Guerin envisioned. He also can't invent a bunch of sexy names that don't exist when the free agent bell rings Tuesday. Advertisement So while fans have every right to expect the Wild to add bigtime players to their arsenal after four years of hearing about dead money and buyout penalties and all those annoying things, if Guerin has to wait for next season to find the right players or even next summer to go after more appetizing fish and avoid tying up cap dollars on lesser players this free-agent class, well, so be it. That would be the most prudent thing to do. 'The biggest thing is that we're going to be able to be players in the game again,' Guerin said. 'Every year, you see, like, the (Mikko) Rantanen thing. (Matthew) Tkachuk a couple years before that. Like big players do move, and we haven't been able to be involved in that type of stuff. But if they come up now, we can.' That's fair as long as it actually happens, and Kaprizov, himself, understands that. With all due respect to Marian Gaborik, Kaprizov is the first true superstar in Wild history. If he's going to invest as much as nine more years of his career in Minnesota, he deserves to and needs to understand the plan. Guerin said he does, and he'll continue to communicate with him. Remember, Kaprizov wants to win. His NHL career started six years later than most players of his pedigree. His extension would kick in at age 29, so if winning a Stanley Cup is as important to Kaprizov as we think it is, he's going to want to see the path to perennial contention. Guerin still plans to add a couple of forwards in a few days — probably at least one bottom-six center and perhaps a scoring winger. Possible centers who can win draws and kill penalties include Christian Dvorak, Sean Kuraly, Nico Sturm, Colin Blackwell and Radek Faksa. Possible scoring wingers, as of now, include Brock Boeser, Patrick Kane, Brad Marchand, Nikolaj Ehlers, Claude Giroux and Corey Perry. Advertisement And after trading Declan Chisholm to the Washington Capitals on Saturday, Guerin does want to add blue line depth to a top seven that likely includes youngsters Zeev Buium and David Jiricek. But when it comes to extending Kaprizov, our gut is the Wild are indeed in the driver's seat. He missed half of the season last season with core muscle injuries. Is he really going to risk not signing a deal that could be in the $110 million to $120 million range? Also, when Leipold said last fall that no team in the NHL can or will be able to offer Kaprizov more money than the Wild, he's even more correct now. Terms of the newly agreed-upon collective bargaining agreement have started to leak. The four-year extension begins in the 2026-27 season. If a player entering the final year of his contract extends before June 30, 2026, league sources said the current rule would still be in effect. What does that mean? Starting in 2026-27, players can only re-sign for seven years with their current team and can only sign for six years with another in free agency. So Kaprizov can re-sign with the Wild for as many as eight years starting this July 1, but he would only be able to sign with another team for six years next July 1 (if he's not traded by the Wild before). That means if the Wild were to offer him, say, eight years at $14 million annually ($112 million total) or at $15 million annually ($120 million total) and he turned it down and decided to wait, he would have to get an offer of $18.67 million or $20 million on a six-year term to make those same total dollars. Similarly, the Wild have largely avoided giving player signing bonuses on Leipold's watch. But Leipold said last fall that he understands that with Kaprizov, 'We may be entering into new territory.' Well, under the next CBA, signing bonuses are expected to be capped at 60 percent of the total contract value. So if Kaprizov, like many players today, wants most of his contract in annual signing bonuses, he'd also have to sign his extension now. Advertisement For example, Noah Dobson was traded to the Montreal Canadiens on Friday and signed an eight-year, $76 million contract. Dobson will earn $1 million in base salaries annually with $11 million signing bonuses on July 1 in each of his first three years, according to The Athletic's Chris Johnston. That wouldn't fly a year from now under the new CBA. Same with Sam Bennett's structure with the Florida Panthers. He re-signed Friday at the tune of eight years and $64 million. According to PuckPedia, he'll earn eight years of $1 million base salaries with $56 million in bonuses spread across the eight years, starting in a few days at $9.2 million. Not that the Wild or Kaprizov would want this, but deferred payments in contracts will also no longer be permitted in contracts signed starting July 1, 2026. So all of this should be good news for the Wild and their fans. Financially, it makes all the sense in the world for Kaprizov to lock in with the Wild now. Of course, there's always a chance that Kaprizov would prefer a shorter-term deal to keep his future options open and further, let's just say, incentivize the Wild to try to build a perennial winner and not get complacent over the term of his contract. That, too, could be considered a good thing if it puts pressure on a franchise that has made the playoffs eight times in the past 10 years but has also lost in the first round in eight of the past 10 years. What may excite Kaprizov beyond the potential external additions to the Wild's lineup in free agency in a few days is the infusion of youth onto the roster next season. There's a chance we could see as many as five young players make the opening night lineup. Buium and Jiricek will have every opportunity to make the team on the back end. Goalie Jesper Wallstedt is penciled in to be Filip Gustavsson's backup. Skilled forward Danila Yurov is coming over from Russia to make his NHL debut, and it's time to see if Liam Ohgren can be a full-time NHLer. With Jonas Brodin having recently undergone surgery and expected to miss the start of the season, we could even see Carson Lambos on the opening night roster. Guerin is excited about the youthful energy these kids may be able to bring to the team. 'A lot of times those are the guys that can help you get over the edge or over the hump,' Guerin said. 'It's really important that we find these younger players that can make the push — make the lineup but make an impact. Like not just be out there and just get a roster spot. Advertisement 'We need guys to come in and make an impact and do something, not just make the team and take a seat in the locker room. 'And I think we've got some young guys that are going to be able to do that.' We'll soon find out one way or the other what Kaprizov thinks of all this. Remember, Guerin's not wrong when he says not to panic if there's no big Kaprizov announcement Tuesday. Leon Draisaitl's $14 million-per-year extension with the Edmonton Oilers didn't get done until September. There's no rush to get it done July 1. Could it, though? 'We'll see,' Guerin said. 'I can't really answer that. Hey, listen, I'd love to have everything locked in and sealed on July 1. I don't see that happening, but who knows? Kirill's agent and I have been talking — not just about Kirill but about other things, too. We have an open dialogue, and I would say things are good.' Pending restricted free agents: Rossi, Michael Milne, Graeme Clarke, Adam Raska, Luke Toporowski. Pending unrestricted free agents: Gustav Nyquist, Justin Brazeau, Devin Shore, Travis Boyd, Tyler Madden. Roster hopefuls: Yurov ($950,000), Ohgren ($886,666), Vinnie Hinostroza ($775K), Ben Jones (775K), Hunter Haight ($865,833), Riley Heidt ($950K), Caedan Bankier ($867,500), Cameron Butler ($858,333), Rasmus Kumpulainen ($897,500), Milne, Clarke, Raska, Toporowski. Pending restricted free agents: Ryan O'Rourke. Pending unrestricted free agents: Jon Merrill, Cam Crotty, Chase Priskie. Roster hopefuls: Buium ($966,667), Jiricek ($918,333), Carson Lambos ($863,334), David Spacek ($862,500), Jack Peart ($925K), Kyle Masters ($865,000), Stevie Leskovar ($860,000), O'Rourke. Pending unrestricted free agents: Dylan Ferguson, Troy Grosenick. Roster hopefuls: Samuel Hlavaj ($875K), Riley Mercer ($819,167) Cap charges (including Ohgren, Buium, Jiricek, Wallstedt, Yurov): $75,021,666 Projected dead-cap buyout charges, bonus overages: $2,766,666 Projected salary cap for 2025-26 season: $95.5 million Projected salary-cap space: $17,711,668 (excludes re-signings) (Top photo by Jeff Bottari / NHLI via Getty Images)
New York Times
26-06-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Wild GM Bill Guerin on Kirill Kaprizov, Marco Rossi and why there might not be a big splash July 1
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. Advertisement 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. Advertisement '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. Advertisement 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.' Advertisement 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: — 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.' Advertisement 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)
CBS News
01-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
St. Paul, Wild scale back Xcel Energy Center complex renovations, slash state funding request
The Minnesota Wild and city of St. Paul have scaled back their plans to renovate the Xcel Energy Center complex and slashed their state funding request to the Legislature. They were initially pursuing a $770 million renovation project, which included the Saint Paul RiverCentre and Roy Wilkins Auditorium in addition to Xcel. They had hoped about half of the funding — $394 million — would come from a state General Fund appropriations bond, which needs approval by lawmakers. But on Thursday, a joint announcement said the city and team have "narrowed the immediate scope" of the project to focus only on the Xcel Energy Center, bringing the cost down to $488 million. "City and local partners" will provide $200 million, the announcement said, and the Wild will cover the remaining $238 million, plus any additional costs that arise. Now they are seeking $50 million from the state, a drastic reduction from the initial $394 million request. "This project will create hundreds of jobs and generate millions in economic growth, while securing this publicly owned tourist destination for decades to come," St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said. "With these goals more urgent than ever, this is exactly the kind of public infrastructure investment our state needs right now." The state's funding "would help expand the Xcel Energy Center's north wall along 5th Street to improve the northeast entrance security area, increase ADA accessibility, reduce congestion in corridors and update restroom plumbing," according to officials. The team and city will likely seek additional funding for the other facilities in future years, the announcement said. "Since 2000, the Xcel Energy Center has been the economic engine of downtown Saint Paul, and we're excited for the opportunity to build on this success," Wild owner Craig Leipold said. "Saint Paul is uniquely positioned to become a gleaming example nationwide of forward-thinking revitalization. The Wild is committed to our home in the capital of the state of hockey, and we're proud to invest in the future of Saint Paul." In March, key lawmakers on the capital investment committee were skeptical of approving a borrowing measure to finance the proposed renovations at a time when there are other infrastructure needs across the state and the budget outlook is bleak. Minnesota is staring down a $6 billion deficit in the future if lawmakers don't make tough decisions this year about the next two-year spending plan. The Wild last month announced a search for a new naming rights partner for the Xcel Energy Center. The team expects to announce the new name before the next NHL season, which starts in October.
