Insider names Metropolitan Division team eyeing Kirill Kaprizov most aggressively

The Minnesota Wild are at a crossroads with their superstar winger and face of the franchise. 

It's now well known that Kirill Kaprizov rejected their historic eight-year, $128 million extension offer, and that could result in difficult decisions having to be made moving forward. 

If the Wild still believe they can extend Kaprizov, then general manager Bill Guerin has to continue doing whatever is necessary to work things out. On the other hand, should they feel that Kaprizov has one foot out the door, then gauging the market for trade offers is the route Minnesota must take.

We still don't know which way this is all going to go, though Wild insider Michael Russo is imploring us to keep an eye on the Carolina Hurricanes should Kirill Kaprizov become available. Here was what he had to say on the recent episode of the "DFO Rundown" podcast.

"They are the one team that I think is extremely motivated to try to get Kirill Kaprizov there and would be willing to pay him to. So if Kirill is motivated by money and a team that has a chance to win, and for the foreseeable future, they're a team that the Minnesota Wild might talk trade with," Russo said.

The 28-year-old is, of course, poised to enter the final season of the five-year, $45 million contract extension he signed with the Wild back in 2021. 

Could Svechnikov be a return piece?

If the Carolina Hurricanes attempt to trade for Kirill Kaprizov, it would take an absolute haul of a return package to get the Wild to budge. 

The Canes have one of the better prospect pools in hockey, though it's going to require more than just picks and prospects to land a top-10 player in the league. According to Michael Russo, star winger Andrei Svechnikov could be a piece that Minnesota would seek in any deal with Carolina.

"The one thing I'll say, and I don't want to put the cart before the horse here, is that the guys the Wild might want there probably have some no-move protection. I'm thinking of guys like Aho. But one person that doesn't is Svechnikov. So, he's not Kaprizov, but that could be somebody that maybe there's a little marriage there to start a little package," Russo said.

The 25-year-old Svechnikov has four years remaining on his eight-year, $62 million contract signed with the Hurricanes in 2021. He's had injury issues and ups and downs in production, but there's no denying the talent and upside of the former third-overall pick from 2018.

As Russo mentions, he's no Kirill Kaprizov, though Andrei Svechnikov would certainly be a great piece to start with in a return package if it gets to that point for the Minnesota Wild.