Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov has successfully returned to the United States from Russia, according to a report by The Athletic‘s Michael Russo.
Kaprizov, 25, reportedly left Russia through Turkey last week and arrived in New York City. The 2022 Hart Trophy candidate is scheduled to fly to Minnesota on Tuesday.
The news of Kaprizov’s arrival on American soil comes in the midst of what has been a chaotic summer for Russian athletes attempting to leave the country.
In July, reports surfaced that goaltender Ivan Fedotov, signed by the Philadelphia Flyers in May, was detained by Russian law enforcement and sent to a remote military base. Fedotov previously played for CSKA Moscow, a club with close ties to the Russian army.
Also in July, news spread that Kaprizov had come under scrutiny in Russia for allegedly purchasing a fake military ID card in 2017. According to Russo, those allegations “have largely been refuted,” and Kaprizov is able to defer his military obligations as a student of the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.
Kaprizov is Minnesota’s most important player at any position. The 5-10, 202-pound winger from Novokuznetsk, Russia scored 47 goals and 108 points (both single-season franchise records) in 81 games with the Wild during the 2021–22 regular season and added seven goals and eight points in six playoff games.
Last September, the Wild signed Kaprizov to a five-year contract extension carrying a $9 million annual cap hit. Kaprizov has four years remaining on his deal with the Wild (the final two seasons include a full no-movement clause) and will become an unrestricted free agent in 2026.
Kaprizov won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2021 as the National Hockey League’s top rookie. In 136 career regular-season games with the Wild, Kaprizov has scored 74 goals and 159 points.
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