In today’s NHL rumors, Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin admitted that the team had little choice but to overpay for Kirill Kaprizov. Meanwhile, will Cale Makar be the next player to make a ridiculous amount of money and turn the NHL salary landscape upside down? Finally, did the Edmonton Oilers offer Jack Roslovic a bigger deal before he ultimately came back and accepted a one-year deal worth $1.5 million?
Wild Know They paid too much for Kaprizov
As fans criticized the general manager for his overpayment of Kirill Kaprizov, Pierre LeBrun of TSN spoke with Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin following Jack Eichel’s $13.5 million signing. Guerin emphasized that every market works differently and noted that paying Kaprizov $17 million per season was worth it to ensure the star stayed in Minnesota.
He said the Wild were at risk of losing the player, and instead of trying to find a replacement, they caved and paid Kaprizov what he could get in their market.
LeBrun said Guerin told him they have absolutely no regrets pledging $17 million annually to Kaprizov. There could be potential friction between some players in the locker room, especially considering what their other core players are making: Matt Boldy at $7 million, Joel Eriksson Ek at $5.25 million and Brock Faber at $8.5 million.
Makar could be the next NHL “nuclear explosion.”
Elliotte Friedman said on a recent 32 Thoughts podcast: “Now Kaprizov and [Connor] McDavid is done, all eyes are on Cale Makar as the next potential nuclear explosion.” He added that Colorado has prepared for it and may hand him a blank check.” Makar is a Norris Trophy winner, Stanley Cup champion and potential Hart Trophy candidate. He’s arguably the best defenseman in the NHL and he’s going to command top dollar.
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Friedman also points to Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes as another young defenseman who could command an elite salary, while other prospects like Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini and Logan Cooley are in position for big deals.
Sources deny bigger Roslovic offer from Oilers
Jack Roslovic’s signing with the Edmonton Oilers has become one of the early storylines of the season, but reports of a bigger offer from Edmonton before accepting a smaller deal have been exaggerated.
Some sources suggested that the Oilers initially offered Roslovic a three-year deal worth $4 million per season, but that did not happen Elliotte Friedman confirmed this through a trusted source that such an offer did not exist. I also asked Stan Bowman directly if there was ever anything on the table other than a one-year contract, and he replied, “Just that one year.”
While that doesn’t necessarily mean the Oilers and Roslovic never discussed other options, the Oilers knew they had little money to spend, which is one of the reasons why Roslovic remained unsigned for so long. He eventually returned to Edmonton and agreed to a one-year contract worth $1.5 million, which was publicly announced before many Oilers players even knew it. Friedman noted that a few Oilers were surprised to find on the scoreboard during Wednesday’s game that Edmonton had signed the forward.
The signing gives Roslovic a chance to redeem himself, while Edmonton now has to work on sorting out its roster situation. The team placed defenseman Jake Walman on injured reserve, which will buy them some time. However, when Walman and Mattias Janmark are healthy, someone has to go down because the Oilers will have too many players on their roster.
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