It didn’t seem possible, but an NHL team might actually hand out a bigger contract than the one Auston Matthews‘ Toronto Maple Leafs gave Mitch Marner before trading him to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Toronto handed Marner an eight-year, $96M deal, only to complete the first step in the sign-and-trade ploy with Vegas. Matthews and the Leafs are now left to wonder. Will they will welcome another star to the lineup, or must they adapt and evolve?
Vegas will take on Marner’s contract entirely, which is one of the biggest in the NHL. While Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl remains the league’s highest-paid player, the Minnesota Wild are reportedly working on a deal that could put Kirill Kaprizov near the very top of that list—if not over it.
“Bill Guerin is always confident [Kaprizov will re-sign] and I’m really curious to see what the number is going to be,” insider Elliotte Friedman commented on the 32 Thoughts podcast. “People felt Kaprizov would go for the biggest number in the league. The Wild have said they will pay it.“
Magic number
Draisaitl’s eight-year, $112M extension with the Oilers is currently the biggest deal in the NHL. The contract will only begin counting in the 2025-26 season, and it might be de-throned before the campaign even gets underway. Not only by the Wild’s potentially record-breaking deal with Kaprizov, though.
It might actually be the Oilers who hand out an even bigger contract—to Connor McDavid—as the league’s best player enters the final year of his eight-year, $100 million deal. In order to surpass Draisaitl’s contract, Kaprizov would need to sign for a max-term deal with an average annual value in the neighborhood of $15–16 million.
Eichel speaks on Marner
There’s a new star duo in town. As Marner arrives in Sin City from Hogtown, he leaves behind Matthews and the crestfallen Leafs to join Jack Eichel and the Knights in shining armor. It’s a major turning point in the 28-year-old’s career, but fortunately, he’s stepping into a locker room full of players who also came from elsewhere.
“Having went through the situation of leaving an organization in the city and having a fresh start in Vegas,” Eichel admitted in dialogue with The Hockey News. “I think I can relate, to a point, to some of the things he’s going through.
“I think he’s obviously had his own situation, and however that ended, I’m sure he’s super excited to have a fresh start and be in a place like Vegas. I know he’ll excel. I’m looking forward to continuing to get to know him and then getting the opportunity to play with him.”