Kaprizov and the Wild to talk this week
Jessi Pierce of NHL.com: Contract talks between the Minnesota Wild and Kirill Kaprizov will resume this week and GM Bill Guerin believes a deal can be made.
Wild GM Bill Guerin on the weekend.
“I’m confident in that. I’m confident in and his wanting to be here and his willingness to play in Minnesota.”
The Wild had been hoping to sign Kaprizov to a long-term deal but Kaprizov had been thinking short-term.
“You’ve got to understand the other side and where they’re coming from,” Guerin said. “They’re trying to accomplish something and so are we. I think when there’s maybe a bit of a disagreement, it just takes a little bit more time to come to a compromise.
“It’s not just them not wanting to take what we’re offering, it’s us, too, and we have to see it that way. It takes two sides to make a deal, and it just could take a little bit longer.”
Guerin adds that talks haven’t “gone cold” and the dialogue is open. He’s confident a deal will get done eventually.
Golden Knights looking to improve their PP, and need to make a goalie decision
David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal: Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley believes the team will be exploring the trade and free agent market this offseason.
One area Foley said they will look to improve on is their power play.
The Golden Knights have $12 million tied up in Marc-Andre Fleury and Robin Lehner and they’ll need to decide how to proceed next year. Foley has wanted Fleury to finish his career as a Golden Knight.
Fleury has a year left and Lehner has four years left at a $5 million cap hit.
“That’s all going to be up for discussion when we start talking with the pro scouts in two weeks or so,” Foley said. “I like having our two goalies. They’re both skilled. They’re both great guys. Alternating two top goalies like that, really getting into a tandem situation, I believe really helps. But we’ll just have to see how things evolve over this next few weeks or so.”
The Golden Knights have $5 million in projected cap space. Defenseman Alec Martinez is their main free agent.