As NHL Training Camps open up, one of the big storylines besides the Connor McDavid extension is the extension for Kirill Kaprizov with the Minnesota Wild. According to reports as documented on NHLRumors.com, Kirill Kaprizov turned down an eight-year, $128 million contract with an AAV of $16 million. This is the richest in NHL history.
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At some point, the Minnesota Wild can’t let this situation drag on too long. Eventually, they will have to go to the player and get an answer one way or another. And say the Wild end up trading him, do we think the Carolina Hurricanes are actually in play for a player like this?
According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, who covers the Minnesota Wild, the Hurricanes could be a team in play.
Michael Russo: Right now the Wild have not asked Kaprizov for a list; before asking for a list…I would have conversations with other teams…whether it’s Carolina, New York, Chicago, LA, these are teams I think would have interest – DFO Rundown (9/16)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) September 16, 2025
Michael Russo: Re Hurricanes: They are the one team that I think is extremely motivated to try to get Kirill Kaprizov…and would be willing to pay him; they’re a team the Wild might talk trade with – DFO Rundown (9/16)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) September 16, 2025
And it’s not like the first time the Hurricanes have been linked to a player like this. During the summer, before Mitch Marner completed the sign-and-trade between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights, he was connected to Carolina. Jason Robertson, who was in trade rumours over the summer, was connected to the Carolina Hurricanes. And while the Hurricanes do need an offensive punch, what do they have to give up?
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According to Russo on the DFO Rundown Podcast, if the Hurricanes and Wild were to make a trade, it would involve Andrei Svechnikov.
“They are the one team that I think is extremely motivated to try to get Kirill Kaprizov there and would be willing to pay him, too. So if Kirill is motivated by money, and a team that has a chance to win and for the foreseeable future, they’re a team that the Minnesota Wild might talk trade with.
And look, the one thing I’ll say, and I don’t want to put the cart before the horse here, is that the guys the Wild might want, there probably have some no-move protection. I’m thinking of guys like (Sebastian) Aho, but one person that doesn’t is (Andrei) Svechnikov. So he’s not Kaprizov, but that could be somebody, that maybe there’s a little marriage there, if you start a little package.”
While the Carolina Hurricanes could use a player like this, the questions become, does Kaprizov even want to go to Carolina, and does the owner want to pay Kaprizov? Remember, Kaprizov had a no-movement clause, so he would have to approve any deal. Are the Hurricanes one of those teams, or does he only want to go to a big city?
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And despite Tom Dundon having the money, nobody is making more than Sebastian Aho at $9.75 million. There were talks of the Hurricanes paying Marner somewhere between $13-$15 million a season. The same goes for Mikko Rantanen when the Hurricanes traded for him without an extension. Neither player wanted to be there, and the owner didn’t want to pay.
The other day for @FullPressNHL I wrote about Mitch Marner and the Carolina Hurricanes rumors.
Inside the article I talked about would the owner actually pay the money to get him. History says no. #raiseup
More Here:https://t.co/iyHlCHZAgl
Clip w/ @DennisTFP https://t.co/GzUjAPz0NI pic.twitter.com/TNrWQOt9iZ
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) June 18, 2025
There will be hesitation from the owner again to even allow a trade like this to go through because of what happened last year with Rantanen. But last year, when the Hurricanes acquired Rantanen, they sent out Martin Necas in return. He didn’t have trade protection. Most of their players do, including Svechnikov, who has a 10-team no-trade clause. One of the top players that doesn’t have trade protection is Seth Jarvis, and the Hurricanes don’t want to part with him.
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The biggest issue with Marner and Rantanen was whether they fit Rod Brind’Amour‘s system. Something similar could be said about Kaprizov as Walt Ruff, Hurricanes editorial content producer and team reporter, said when he caught up with GM Eric Tulsky.
“We have a core of 12 players already under contract for at least four more years, and the average age of those 12 players is just 26,” Tulsky said. “That creates a situation where we have a lot of cap room to make additions to keep improving the team and taking steps forward. We’ll always be on the lookout for players who we think fit the way Rod wants his team to play.”
With the addition of Nikolaj Ehlers, the Hurricanes are set there. Again, Dundon isn’t going to pay Kaprizov the type of money he is looking for, especially if it is 20 percent of the cap, after getting burned last year with Rantanen.
While the Hurricanes could use him, Kirill Kaprizov isn’t going to the Carolina Hurricanes.
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