Was the 14-day quarantine holding up deals?
TSN: Darren Dreger said that Canadian teams are happy with the quarantine time frame dropping down to seven days. That could make things a little easier for them leading up to the trade deadline, but was it really a hang-up?
But when the news broke earlier in the day, one general manager noted ‘look, I don’t think there’s been a single trade that’s been held up to this point because of the quarantine issues and the restrictions in Canada.’
Finding a new deal for Kaprizov won’t be easy
Michael Russo of The Athletic: On Wednesday Kirill Kaprizov‘s agent Paul Theofanous was in Minnesota and was to have initial contract extension talks with GM Bill Guerin. Don’t expect anything to happen soon as this will likely be a long process.
Talks will likely be to see what contract term each side is thinking and for Kaprizov’s camp to hear what the Wild’s future plans may be.
The Wild will be obviously thinking a long-term deal for the soon-to-be 24-year old rookie. Kaprizov is only under control until the end of the 2023-24 season. A three-year deal would put him as a UFA. A two-year deal could be dangerous.
The Wild, and their fans, don’t have to worry about an offer sheet this offseason.
One agent thinks a two-year deal at $6.5 to $7 million or with the KHL factor, six-plus at $9 million or more.
Artemi Panarin and Kaprizov share the same agent and were in similar situations. Panarin signed a two-year deal at $6 million per.
“There are so many variables,” another executive said. “(Guerin’s) probably going to want to get ahead of it, but what’s a fair number today? There’s no right or wrong answer. It’s just what you can budget for. I’m sure Theofanous is going to ask for $10 million. You can’t do eight times 10, that’s absurd. At the same time, if you’re Theofanous, you probably can’t do eight times seven, which I bet Guerin offers.”
Other comparables are Vladimir Tarasenko (eight years and $60 million), Clayton Keller (eight years and $57.2 million), Kyle Connor (seven years and $50 million), and Taylor Hall (seven years and $42 million). Hall’s deal was 10 percent of the cap hit which is now $8.15 million.