The Los Angeles Kings and Minnesota Wild are both looking to return to the playoffs in the West for the postseason for the second year in a row this upcoming season in the 2025-26 campaign.
Young star forward Kirill Kaprizov wants to contend for a postseason run in the West this upcoming season to finally get over the playoff hump in the first round next spring in 2026. Speculation and rumors regarding a possible contract extension for Kaprizov with the Wild has also been the subject of a lot of headlines and media attention in the past few days in early September.
Do the Los Angeles Kings have a way to make the pieces work for a Kirill Kaprizov deal from the Minnesota Wild on the trade market this season?
Earlier this week, Kaprizov reportedly rejected a contract extension offer from the Wild that would've made him the highest-paid forward in the NHL this upcoming season.
NHL insider Frank Seravalli reported on Sep. 10 that Kaprizov rejected a contract extension offer from the Wild, which was worth $128 million over the course of eight years. Kaprizov will be an unrestricted free agent next summer if he doesn't re-sign with the Wild before or during the upcoming 2025-26 season.
In a world hypothetically where the Wild aren't able to reach a contract extension deal with Kaprizov before next offseason in the summer of 2026, would it make sense for him to potentially join the Kings via the trade market or the next free agency cycle?
The top priority for the Kings and head coach Jim Hiller this upcoming season is to make it over the postseason hump and get past the first round against the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs in the West. The Oilers have knocked off the Kings in four straight years in the postseason in the first round in the West.
Adding a star forward the caliber and with the skill level of Kaprizov from the Wild would give new general manager Ken Holland and the Kings a true superstar for the top forward line for Hiller and staff this upcoming season and heading into the future hypothetically. Kaprizov would immediately give the Kings more elite goal scoring and playmaking for the top-six forward group and he could potentially help push this team over the hump in the postseason past the first round.
However, one big question looming regarding whether the Kings could realistically pursue Kaprizov and make him a good contract extension offer is the cap space and other contract situations on the team's roster this upcoming season.
The Kings and Holland want to extend standout winger Adrian Kempe's contract, which is likely to cost the team north of $10 million this upcoming season.
LA has just over $30 million in cap room on the current projected roster for the 2025-26 campaign this season. If the Kings could get Kempe to agree to a more team-friendly deal below $12 or $13 million per year on his next contract extension with the team, that could hypothetically leave room for LA to pursue Kaprizov on the trade block this season.
I do want to make it clear that there aren't any concrete rumors or reports out there right now linking Kaprizov to the Kings. That said, the Kings are in the market for a top-six forward and Kaprizov fits the need to add an elite scorer and a difference maker who could help this team get over the hump in the postseason in the playoffs.
The appeal of playing in Southern California in LA with a team that has proved it can get into the postseason and that has some solid talent on the projected roster already could be intriguing potentially to Kaprizov before next offseason in Minnesota.
The Kings need to find a way to upgrade the roster and get this team to the next level in the postseason. Getting a star the caliber of Kaprizov could vault the Kings into the conversation picture for the Western Conference Finals or better this upcoming postseason.