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NHL Notebook: Kaprizov rejects mega extension from Wild, pair of 2025 1st round picks sign ELCs, and more
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Photo credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
Tyson Cole
Sep 11, 2025, 11:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 13, 2025, 13:09 EDT
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Welcome back to NHL Notebook — the series here at CanucksArmy where we deliver you news and notes from around the National Hockey League — oftentimes through a Vancouver Canucks-tinted lens!
In what felt like the slowest and most uneventful offseason in recent memory, as we approach NHL Training Camp, news is starting to trickle in. Today, we have a massive unrestricted free agent turning down a massive extension, a pair of 2025 first-round picks signing with their clubs and a former Canuck getting a second chance in the NHL.

Kirill Kaprizov turns down mega extension

According to NHL Insider Frank Seravalli, Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov has rejected an eight-year, $128 million contract, which carries an average annual value (AAV) of $16 million.
Had Kaprizov signed this deal, it would have not only made him the highest-paid player on an annual basis, but it would have been the largest contract signed in NHL history – narrowly edging out his fellow countryman Alex Ovechkin’s 13-year, $124 million contract.
Kaprizov, 28, was the hottest player in the NHL to start the 2024-25 season. Before his injury on December 23, Kaprizov was second in goals (23) and fourth in points (50) in just 34 games. Kaprizov would make his return one month later; however, he would last just three games before missing another two months. 
The Russian superstar is in the final year of his five-year, $45 million contract, which carries a $9 million AAV. However, he is not the only top player who’s looking for a new contract. Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Artemi Panarin and Kyle Connor join Kaprizov in the star-studded free agency class of 2026.
It’s not always beneficial to be the first player to sign an extension, as you technically set the market for your peers. However, turning down $128 million and the opportunity to sign the largest contract in NHL history is unusual. Could he be searching for more money? Or is he looking for a new destination?
Later that day, Wild General Manager Bill Guerin joined the 10,000 Takes podcast and poured cold water on the reporting, stating that the news did not get out from the Wild’s camp or Kaprizov’s camp.

Sharks and Blues lock up latest first-round picks

On Wednesday, the San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues signed their 2025 first-round picks to entry-level contracts.
First, San Jose locked up second overall pick Michael Misa.
Misa spent his draft year tearing up the Ontario Hockey League with the Saginaw Spirit. The Oakville, Ontario native led the entire OHL in scoring, finishing with 62 goals, 72 assists for 134 points in just 65 games. Saginaw finished fourth in the Western Conference and faced off against the Erie Otters. Misa’s two goals and three points were not enough to advance the Spirit, as they lost to the Otters in five games.
With Misa now locked up, the Sharks are hopeful that he will make an impact in San Jose as early as the 2025-26 season.
Then, St. Louis signed 19th overall pick Justin Carbonneau.
Finishing second in scoring in the QMJHL, Carbonneau shot up draft boards. He finished second in goals (46) and points (89) across the entire Quebec League. His efforts helped the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada finish fourth in the Western Conference, but like Misa’s Spirit, Carbonneau and the Armada would bounce out in five games.
Carbonneau was a potential option for the Canuck at 15. However, they passed on the Quebec native and went with Braeden Cootes instead.

Ex-Canuck Tyler Motte signs PTO in Florida

Former Canuck, Tyler Motte, has been given another chance at his NHL career. Seravalli reported on Wednesday that Motte had signed a professional tryout contract (PTO) with the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers.
Motte spent four-and-a-half seasons in Vancouver after he was acquired at the 2018 NHL Trade Deadline from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Thomas Vanek. The Michigan native had a career year in his first season in a Canucks uniform, scoring nine goals and 16 points, while being a dominant penalty killer – scoring two goals and four points shorthanded.
Since then, Motte has bounced around with the New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings. Health has been a big story for Motte since leaving Vancouver, never playing more than 69 games in a season over the past five seasons. However, the 30-year-old is getting a chance in a place that has always seemed to revitalize the careers of struggling NHL players.
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