Street. POOL, Minnesota (AP) — Last summer, lengthy contract negotiations between Kirill Kaprizov and Minnesota Wild — as well as the complexities of international travel and COVID-19 protocols — put the star left winger’s arrival to start training camp into question.
This operation turned out to be surprising compared to this year.
Kaprizov’s return to his native Russia after Wild was expelled from the playoffs last spring caused off-season turmoil for the entire organization, as the franchise player faced numerous roadblocks in his attempt to return to the U.S.
The war in Ukraine and US-Russian political relations made a trip home to visit family and friends not so simple anymore.
“At least I could do something last year, or do nothing,” said general manager Bill Guerin, who awarded Kaprizov a five-year, $45 million contract before last season. “At least we knew where he was and he was safe and all that stuff. It was just simple contract negotiations. This was a lot more serious, and when she couldn’t help it, it was a little different.”
The Wild helped as they could, with assistant general manager Chris O’Hearn and Kaprizoff’s agent, Paul Theophanos, leading the behind-the-scenes paperwork.
While rumors about Kaprizov’s military exemption status circulated through the Russian media, the crux of the issue, according to Gerin, was the expiration of Kaprizov’s work visa. The backlog related to the pandemic has made getting appointments to foreign consulates more difficult.
“I’m sure it wasn’t a huge part of his life, but it was more difficult than we thought it would be,” said Guerin, who alluded to help from “special friends” in Washington. “Kirill has been really patient. He did exactly what he had to do. It was just a rough time for him. We are just so happy to have him here. We’re glad he’s safe and healthy and ready to go, and he’s excited. That’s behind us.”
After taking the ice into the team’s first practice on Thursday, Kaprizov met with reporters but politely refused to answer questions about his off-ice plight by focusing on hockey.
The hockey part? Yes, that should be much smoother.
He had seven goals and one assist in Minnesota’s six-game loss to St. Louis in the first round of the playoffs last spring after 47 goals and 61 assists in 81 games during the regular season. The Wild had Kaprizov’s interpreter on the phone while standing on a podium at the rink, but the 25-year-old, calm smile and light talker only needed his service for about half the time. Kaprizov was comfortable enough to speak English for the rest of the speech.
“I do what I do every summer. I don’t think about 100 points. I have fun sometimes,” Kaprizov said when asked how he can top his 2021-22 season.
Probably not as much as it was last summer.
Since the war escalated in February, Russian NHL players have found themselves in a big bind, trying to minimize these geopolitical issues as much as possible.
Ivan Fedotov, the Philadelphia Flyers guard, was sent to a remote military base in his homeland this summer. Just this week, the Czech Foreign Ministry informed the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks that Russian players will not be welcome due to the war in Ukraine when the two teams play in Prague on October 7-8.
For now, The Wild is more than happy to have “Kirill The Thrill” with them in Minnesota.
“You obviously always think about your family and things like that. He’s not the only person who is going through a tough time or a tough situation. It happens every day of every year in every team. It’s not an easy life. It’s always players who are busy with a lot,” said Gerin. in their mind.” “The cool thing about the game is when you come to the rink, it’s a bit like your safe haven and you can get away from all that and just be a hockey player and focus on the game.”
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from San Jose News Bulletin https://sjnewsbulletin.com/a-relieved-wilde-welcomes-kabrizov-after-summer-in-russia/
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