Wild announce some devastating injury news just moments after Kaprizov contract signing

UPDATE 2: Just moments after announcing a historic contract extension for Kirill Kaprizov, the Minnesota Wild have announced that forward Mats Zuccarello will miss a minimum of 7-8 weeks with a lower body injury.

Read below for our earlier report on Kaprizov.

UPDATE: It's official! The Minnesota Wild have signed forward Kirill Kaprizov to an eight year contract extension worth an NHL record $17 million annually.

From the Wild's official press release announcement:

SAINT PAUL, Minn. - Minnesota Wild President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has signed left wing Kirill Kaprizov to an eight-year, $136 million contract extension ($17 million average annual value) that begins in the 2026-27 season and goes through the 2033-34 season.

Not only is Kaprizov's $17 million annual salary the highest in NHL history, but his $136 million in total compensation is also the highest in NHL history.

The 28 year old Kaprizov is now signed until he's 36 years old and will make $17 million sheets per season... yeesh...

There's no denying Kaprizov's importance to the Wild, but I'll be curious to see how this deal ages. Giving a huge contract to a scoring winger is a strategy that hasn't worked for many teams, but the Wild are counting on Kaprizov bucking the trend.

Stay tuned

This just in, NHL insider Kevin Weekes is reporting that the Minnesota Wild have signed superstar forward Kirill Kaprizov to a "record setting contract extension."

From Weekes:

More to come, including official confirmation, on this developing story.