ST PAUL, Minn. — One down, one to go.
The Minnesota Wild has reached a short-term deal with skilled forward Kevin Fiala, ensuring that one of the hockey club's top offensive weapons will be in St. Paul for the 2021-22 season.
Now the Wild can turn its full attention to Kirill Kaprizov.
Fiala agreed to a one-year, $5.1 million dollar contract, not the long-term agreement he and his agent had hoped for but one that will keep his future options open.
The 25-year-old Fiala notched 40 points (20 goals, 20 assists) in 50 games last season. He added a goal and an assist during the Wild's playoff series with Las Vegas. During the 2020-21 campaign he led the club with five game-winning goals, shots on goal (162) and power play points (14).
Fiala arrived in Minnesota in February of 2019, in a deal that sent forward Mikhail Granlund to Nashville.
Locking Fiala down for at least one more season allows the Wild to turn its full attention to striking a deal with Russian superstar Kirill Kaprizov, who took the NHL by storm last season in winning the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie.
The Athletic's Michael Russo has reported that the Wild is looking to hammer out a seven or eight year deal that would keep Kaprizov in Minnesota long-term. Kaprizov's representatives are said to favor a shorter deal, say three or four years, that would allow him to cash in sooner as an unrestricted free agent.
Adding drama to the negotiations is a report from The Daily Faceoff saying Kaprizov has a tentative agreement in place with his former team CSKA Moscow on a one-year deal worth at least $10 million starting Sept. 1, should a new contract not materialize with the Wild.
