Last week’s report of Kirill Kaprizov
rejecting an eight-year, $128-million contract offer from the
Minnesota Wild garnered plenty of headlines.
It also stoked
speculation over where the 28-year-old superstar left winger might end up
if he and the Wild fail to hammer out an agreement.
The Hockey News’ Jim Parsons examined which clubs had
the salary-cap space and the potential interest to acquire Kaprizov
via trade or next summer’s free-agent market.
Most were rebuilding or retooling teams, such as the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Chicago
Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers and the San Jose
Sharks. The other was the Washington Capitals, which exceeded
expectations last season by finishing first in the Eastern
Conference.
Landing with a playoff contender
carrying sufficient cap room to pay him big bucks could be enticing
for Kaprizov. The Capitals must find a suitable replacement for
franchise star and future Hall of Famer Alex Ovechkin, and Kaprizov
could be a good fit if they’re willing to pony up the dollars.
Meanwhile, Vince Z. Mercogliano of The
Athletic thinks the New York Rangers could aggressively pursue
Kaprizov if he becomes available in the trade market. He cited the
many connections Kaprizov has with Rangers stars Artemi Panarin,
Igor Shesterkin and recently acquired defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov.
As for the asking price, Mercogliano
believes it could cost the Rangers a couple of first-round picks and
a young player like Alexis Lafreniere. Moving the young winger’s $7.45
million average annual value would free up cap room to sign Kaprizov and perhaps leave
enough to retain Panarin if he agrees to a pay cut.
Clearing Lafreniere’s cap hit would
increase the Rangers’ projected cap space to over $37 million for
2026-27, leaving plenty of room for Kaprizov and perhaps Panarin.
However, Larry Brooks of the New York Post doesn’t see the
Rangers trading away draft picks and players for Kaprizov, only to
sign him to between $16 million and $18 million.
Turning to the Boston Bruins, trade
rumors have dogged Pavel Zacha throughout this summer. The versatile
28-year-old forward is in the third season of a four-year contract
with an affordable average annual value of $4.75 million. He also carries an
eight-team no-trade list.
Zacha’s agent recently dismissed the
trade chatter swirling around his client as “just rumors.”
However, RG.Org’s James Murphy cited sources claiming the Montreal
Canadiens and Calgary Flames are among the clubs making inquiries
into Zacha’s availability.
Murphy indicated no deal was imminent,
but trade scenarios had been discussed. His source said the Canadiens
could be willing to part with forwards Joshua Roy and Oliver Kapanen
and defenseman Jayden Struble in their quest for a second-line
center. He also stated that the trade chatter wasn’t coming from the
Bruins, but from teams interested in Zacha.
The Bruins hope to rebound from last
season’s disastrous performance and return to playoff contention.
They’re not sellers right now, but that could change if they stumble
from the gate and fail to gain ground in the standings.
For
action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue,
subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by
subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on
THN.com.
