Report: Wild star Kirill Kaprizov rejects most lucrative contract in NHL history

[Rhett44]

Originally Posted by MegaErtz

He's going to get twenty million a year. From The Athletic:


Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast believes there are teams ready to offer Kaprizov more money if he hits the free agent market. If Kaprizov were to walk to free agency, the longest he’d be able to sign for is seven years. To surpass the $128 million in total being offered by the Wild, another team would have to fork over more than $19 million in annual salary.

“I’m not backing down at all from my thinking somebody is making it very clear out there is a $19 or a $20 [million] by seven out there,” Friedman said. “At the end of the day, we’re probably going to have to wait a year to figure that out. But I 100% believe that is going on.”

No player is worth 20 million per year. This isn't basketball. You need a team to win the cup, not just individual players. Especially a winger.

[MegaErtz]

You don't think McDavid is worth twenty million a year? People show up to watch stars, not fourth line pluggers. We're paying Backlund $4.5m a year to be a cheerleader.

[Rhett44]

Originally Posted by MegaErtz

You don't think McDavid is worth twenty million a year? People show up to watch stars, not fourth line pluggers. We're paying Backlund $4.5m a year to be a cheerleader.

McDavid would be the closest player. But he is a center and a generational player.

Kaprizov is neither.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by MegaErtz

You don't think McDavid is worth twenty million a year? People show up to watch stars, not fourth line pluggers. We're paying Backlund $4.5m a year to be a cheerleader.

McDavid is worth $20M, but you can't expect the team to win with any player taking that much of the cap.

[Goriders]

Seems like he just doesn’t want to play in Minnesota. That contract is ridiculous. He’s not that good.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by bluejays

McDavid is worth $20M, but you can't expect the team to win with any player taking that much of the cap.

What was Iginla or any other star player in the mid 2000's percentage of the capo compared to these rumours? If I recall, Iginla was quite a high percentage of cap.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by bluejays

McDavid is worth $20M, but you can't expect the team to win with any player taking that much of the cap.

Yeah. There's a market for players, and there are methods to winning, but they are not the same thing. And if star players want to be surrounded by other good players, in a cap system, they have to acknowledge their role in building a winning a team.

A player can deserve a market rate, and also totally blow their team's chances at winning by demanding it.

[ben voyonsdonc]

Originally Posted by jayswin

What was Iginla or any other star player in the mid 2000's percentage of the capo compared to these rumours? If I recall, Iginla was quite a high percentage of cap.

I believe Jarome made $7m on a $39m cap in 2005. Max contract was $7.8m or 20% of total team cap.

[BigThief]

Originally Posted by jayswin

What was Iginla or any other star player in the mid 2000's percentage of the capo compared to these rumours? If I recall, Iginla was quite a high percentage of cap.

First year out of the 2004-2005 lock out with the new salary cap Iginla made 17.9% of the salary cap. In 2026-2027 that same percentage would translate to 18.4million. People can whine and complain and rabble rabble about no one player deserving such a contract and how hockey is a team sport rabble rabble but that doesn't have anything to do with anything. When a top player hits free agency all bets are off.

20% is 20.6 million.

[Draug]

Originally Posted by Rhett44

No player is worth 20 million per year. This isn't basketball. You need a team to win the cup, not just individual players. Especially a winger.

Originally Posted by bluejays

McDavid is worth $20M, but you can't expect the team to win with any player taking that much of the cap.

Speaking stricktly from a franchise profit perspective, McAvi is worth $20m now, and likely for the next few years. But not 8 years. How many tickets will Ovechkin really sell this season now that the record is broken? Did people really pay a to see Gretzky in his last few seasons?

But, as a fan, I don't think the odds of winning a cup are great when you spend $20m on one player. It takes at least 3 lines, 4 strong D, and a top 10 goalie to win a cup, almost always. You cant have that if you spend $20m on an aging player.

As a season ticket holder, I want to see my team win the cup. I dont want to pay for 41 games of highlights that gets the team nowhere. Yes, I am probably an old man in the minority, yelling at the clouds.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Draug

Speaking stricktly from a franchise profit perspective, McAvi is worth $20m now, and likely for the next few years. But not 8 years. How many tickets will Ovechkin really sell this season now that the record is broken? Did people really pay a to see Gretzky in his last few seasons?

But, as a fan, I don't think the odds of winning a cup are great when you spend $20m on one player. It takes at least 3 lines, 4 strong D, and a top 10 goalie to win a cup, almost always. You cant have that if you spend $20m on an aging player.

As a season ticket holder, I want to see my team win the cup. I dont want to pay for 41 games of highlights that gets the team nowhere. Yes, I am probably an old man in the minority, yelling at the clouds.

But this makes no sense as BigThief pointed out. You guys are just seeing big numbers because the cap is rising significantly and reacting to sticker shock. Iginla's contract back in the mid 2000's was the equivalent of an $18.4 million AAV. Would you ever in a million years say Iginla wasn't worth $7mil a year and the Flames were better off trading him or letting him go back then?

Absolutely not. It's just sticker shock for many fans who don't understand/pay attention to the percentage of cap a players salary occupies. Same with Kiprusoff who was the equivalent of like $14 now, or so. Iginla and Kiprusoff were like having an $18mil and $14mil player right now. Are you guys saying you wouldn't have those players in their prime at $7mil and $5.8mil AAV because "you can't win with players making that much? C'mon. It's about what you do with the cap around your stars not what you pay your stars, in general.

[pokerNhockey]

Originally Posted by Draug

. How many tickets will Ovechkin really sell this season now that the record is broken? Did people really pay a to see Gretzky in his last few seasons?

As a season ticket holder, I want to see my team win the cup. I dont want to pay for 41 games of highlights that gets the team nowhere.

One of my childhood memories, would have been from elementary school, where my teacher gave me his ticket stub from the last game Gretzky played in Calgary. So at least some did.

When I was a season ticket holder I mostly wanted entertaining hockey. 201(5)? when we made the second round was my highlight from the decade I had them. That and chanting "we want ten" against the Oilers, even though we lost to our arch nemesis that year because Markstrom struggled to goalie. I think I would take either of those seasons over a deadpuck era Devils cup.

[Draug]

Originally Posted by jayswin

But this makes no sense as BigThief pointed out. You guys are just seeing big numbers because the cap is rising significantly and reacting to sticker shock. Iginla's contract back in the mid 2000's was the equivalent of an $18.4 million AAV. Would you ever in a million years say Iginla wasn't worth $7mil a year and the Flames were better off trading him or letting him go back then?

Absolutely not. It's just sticker shock for many fans who don't understand/pay attention to the percentage of cap a players salary occupies. Same with Kiprusoff who was the equivalent of like $14 now, or so. Iginla and Kiprusoff were like having an $18mil and $14mil player right now. Are you guys saying you wouldn't have those players in their prime at $7mil and $5.8mil AAV because "you can't win with players making that much? C'mon. It's about what you do with the cap around your stars not what you pay your stars, in general.

We didn't win the cup with Iginla eating up that high percentage of the cap, did we?

We were never able to surround him and Kipper with enough talent to be bonafide year after year contenders.

Was it money or something else? Maybe we paid too much to the 2 of them. Or maybe we are just cursed. Because, we did really win the cup in 04.

[BigThief]

Flames had no problem going out acquiring big high priced talent. Alex Tanguay, Mike Cammeleri, Olli Jokinen, Jay Bouwmeester, Roman Hamrlik to name a few. They even found some talent with low contracts that suprised like Huselius and Rene "pass the torch" Bourque and Langkow. The cap never prevented them from building a contender.

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by Draug

We didn't win the cup with Iginla eating up that high percentage of the cap, did we?

We were never able to surround him and Kipper with enough talent to be bonafide year after year contenders.

Was it money or something else? Maybe we paid too much to the 2 of them. Or maybe we are just cursed. Because, we did really win the cup in 04.

A large % of Iggy's career was with no salary cap. He was great post lockout for a few years, but he was at his best before the lockout.

We also drafted as bad as anyone back then. Draft better, Iggy wins a cup and he should have won 1 in 04 as well.

You can win a cup paying Mcdavid $20M, when the cap goes to $113M in year 2 of his contract his % of the cap is 17.6%. Year 3, if you draft well and develop well, you can win a cup with him. Age will be the only concern, but teams that are already set up with youth that is wrapped up with long term deals could throw $20M at him and win.

[Sylvanfan]

I find that the salary growth for the top players has not kept pace with that of mid and lower end guys. When Iginla was making 7 million off a 39 million dollar cap, there were a few others also earning a salary in that range. It's also a time where 3 million dollars in cap growth year over year was a pretty significant percentage. When they started the 05-06 season they also signed Roman Hamrlik to a 2 year deal for 3.5 million. That would be like signing him for 9.2 million today.

Maybe some guys like a McDavid or Kaprizov will start to push the limit for top players here. With the cap looking to get as high as it is, and the rumors that not every team is comfortable spending that much money maybe these types will end up in the larger markets who are more comfortable spending to the cap ceiling.

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

I find that the salary growth for the top players has not kept pace with that of mid and lower end guys. When Iginla was making 7 million off a 39 million dollar cap, there were a few others also earning a salary in that range. It's also a time where 3 million dollars in cap growth year over year was a pretty significant percentage. When they started the 05-06 season they also signed Roman Hamrlik to a 2 year deal for 3.5 million. That would be like signing him for 9.2 million today.

Maybe some guys like a McDavid or Kaprizov will start to push the limit for top players here. With the cap looking to get as high as it is, and the rumors that not every team is comfortable spending that much money maybe these types will end up in the larger markets who are more comfortable spending to the cap ceiling.

I think it is the opposite. The NHL has a major problem with top players only wanting to sign with the team that drafted them or a handful of other teams. If McDavid took $20M and signed with teams that are set up for now and the future, if he picked the right team he could win with that salary.

Tampa right now if the team that is good and could sign McDavid and make some moves and keep their stars and win now.

IMO other teams that could throw $20M at him and that teams would be a threat to win with him and keep the team together for long enough that they win.

Flames
Jackets
Canadiens
Devils
Buffalo
Seattle
Sharks
Hawks

He might only consider 2 or 3 of those teams. Odds are he has no interest in any of them though right now. Maybe Montreal.

[YyjFlames]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

I find that the salary growth for the top players has not kept pace with that of mid and lower end guys. When Iginla was making 7 million off a 39 million dollar cap, there were a few others also earning a salary in that range. It's also a time where 3 million dollars in cap growth year over year was a pretty significant percentage. When they started the 05-06 season they also signed Roman Hamrlik to a 2 year deal for 3.5 million. That would be like signing him for 9.2 million today.

Maybe some guys like a McDavid or Kaprizov will start to push the limit for top players here. With the cap looking to get as high as it is, and the rumors that not every team is comfortable spending that much money maybe these types will end up in the larger markets who are more comfortable spending to the cap ceiling.

Yeah, this certainly seems the way with the percentage of cap players are making.

When the cap came in -- and I think Iginla was one of the first cap deals signed at near max rate -- the thinking was that teams would pay the top end of the market significantly and the middle tier would get a lot less and the bottom and entry guys would have to accept minimum. But teams are spreading their money out quite a bit more.

There will always be a player or two that'll set the market, but with the longer term deals and a constantly rising cap, there's room to pay the middle tier decently.

[Big Erned Nevergivn]

To me this does not smell like Kaprizov's rationale for turning down this offer is "not enough $", it seems way more like "I don't want to play in Minnesota long term". My bet is that he signs a similar AAV, maybe even less, with less total value due to 8 vs. 7 year term, for a team/city that he prefers over the wild.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by YyjFlames

Yeah, this certainly seems the way with the percentage of cap players are making.

When the cap came in -- and I think Iginla was one of the first cap deals signed at near max rate -- the thinking was that teams would pay the top end of the market significantly and the middle tier would get a lot less and the bottom and entry guys would have to accept minimum. But teams are spreading their money out quite a bit more.

There will always be a player or two that'll set the market, but with the longer term deals and a constantly rising cap, there's room to pay the middle tier decently.

The fact that Crosby always took his 8.7 figure did sort of set the standard of top guys not taking as much for themselves so that the team could be better had influence on other players. There was also a period of lower growth, flat caps from before the Pandemic until this season which stagnated some things.

That was always the fear from the PA with the cap 20 years ago. They were worried the 2 to 4 million dollar player middle class of the NHL would go by the wayside. But today there's a lot of players in that 4 to 8 million dollar range on an AAV.