Bill Guerin rarely minces his words, and the Minnesota Wild general manager didn’t pick last week to start. When announcing the signing of star forward Kirill Kaprizov to a record eight-year contract worth $17 million per season, Guerin was asked if it was the most important deal in the 25-year history of the franchise.

“Yes, very much so,” he said.

There are not many questions about the impact Kaprizov can have on the ice. He is renowned as the most dynamic and talented player employed by the Wild since they entered the league as a 2000 expansion team. Since he joined the team for the 2020-21 seasons, he has been the team’s leading scorer (185 goals, 386 points).

If there are questions about the deal, they come not regarding goals and assists, but in the realm of dollars and cents, and

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