Where does everyone think Kaprizov would have been in the MN lineup next season?
When all of this was happening Parise was thought to be healthy. Granny and Nino were got their contracts. Coyle had a few years left on his contract. Zucker was going ot be due a new contract after this season. Foligno and Ennis were hanging around somewhere. JEE and Kunin were starting their first NA pro hockey year.
That is a lot of wings to be competing for ice time with. There really isn't much in the way of NHL roster spots open for at least a couple of years. There is a decent chance he would have started out in Iowa next season.
ELC contracts are pretty standard: $92k signing bonus + $70k AHL salary could have been the pay for the season. It's a decent amount of money, but he's getting 10x (not sure what his contract is, just a guess) that much in the KHL.
If he was a buddy of mine, my advice would have been to do exactly what he did. Make some money in the KHL, work on your skills, then go to the NHL in a few years.
I guess that depends. Can he play RW? If so, 3rd line RW, unless he were to win a higher spot, which seems possible, but unlikely.
Option 1: Kaprizov at RW
Nino - Staal - Coyle
Zucker - Koivu - Granlund
Parise - JEE - Kaprizov
With Coyle at center and JEE as a 4th liner or in Iowa, you can have Kaprizov at his natural LW position:
Option 2: Coyle at C, Kaprizov at LW
Zucker - Staal - Nino
Kaprizov - Koivu - Granlund
Parise - Coyle - someone
Doing that would actually make the Wild a lot deeper of a team. So I guess I'd see him on a 2nd or 3rd line role, even with all of our wings. Winnik's and Stewart's contracts are up after this season, so they're out, with Kaprizov in. Bumps Ennis and Foligno to the 4th line. Maybe you buy Ennis out, maybe not, I don't really know.