NHL Rumor Mill – August 25, 2025
The latest speculation about Golden Knights center Jack Eichel and Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
DAILY FACEOFF: Anthony Di Marco was asked by a reader which UFA-eligible players might test the market next summer.
Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (NHL Images).
Di Marco replied that he doesn’t think it’s a slam dunk that Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel and Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov will re-sign with their respective teams.
Having paid big bucks to land Mitch Marner this summer, Di Marco wonders if they can afford another high-salaried forward. The rising salary cap for next season could see the average annual value on Eichel’s next contract soar above $12.6 million.
Kaprizov is poised to become the league’s highest-paid winger next season, but Di Marco wonders if Wild general manager Bill Guerin is willing to make him that. Guerin played hardball this summer with Marco Rossi before signing the 23-year-old restricted free-agent center to a three-year contract.
Di Marco believes Kaprizov has the opportunity to change the market for NHL wingers in the largest way since Artemi Panarin signed with the New York Rangers in 2019. He might not want to turn that down.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: We can’t rule out the possibility of Eichel and Kaprizov testing next summer’s UFA market. Nevertheless, both are likely to remain with their current teams beyond this season.
Eichel’s role as a first-line center makes him invaluable to the Golden Knights. They also have a projected $20.3 million in cap space for 2026-27, and we can add another $8.8 million to that with Alex Pietrangelo on permanent long-term injury reserve. They shouldn’t have much difficulty hanging onto him.
Meanwhile, Wild owner Craig Leipold stated last October that re-signing Kaprizov was their focus. “We plan to re-sign him,” said Leipold. “I will tell you nobody will offer more money than us, or longer years, so all we have to do is prove to him that we want to win.”.
Is Di Marco really comparing Kiprizovs situation to Rossi’s? That’s ridiculous. Rossi is a solid second line center. Kiprizov is a superstar. Rossi was an RFA under team control for several more years. Kiprizov will be able to walk as a UFA next summer if not signed. Guerin knows full well he can’t negotiate with Kiprizov as he did with Rossi.
I honestly think the only place Eichel might go to is Boston. He has already made 80 million on his most recent contract.He grew up in the Boston suburbs,went to BU and his immediate family is from Boston. Maybe I m crazy to think this but???
Only if, by then, the Bruins are back to being a serious contender.
A true first line center is, in my opinion, what Boston needs most to be a true contender.
I like Lindholm as a solid 2-way 2C but he doesn’t cut it as 1C. Eichel would be a perfect fit in Boston, if he does reach the market.
Eichel might get more gross in other cities but unless it’s Panthers (won’t have space); Lightning (likely won’t have space); Preds; Krakken; Stars; then the take-home won’t be as much.
To move on from (1) a winning team; (2) in a great city (amenities); (3) with good weather; (4) not having to uproot home/fam; (5) leaving behind current friends/teammates ; (6) having to learn knew systems; (7) having to familiarize/gel with knew teammates:
The new contract from a different franchise needs to be much more attractive
For those reasons; I would think Stars, Lightning (if they can fit him in) or staying in Vegas is the more likely outcomes for Eichel
For Kaprizov (currently does have state tax, colder climate, not currently on a top contending team); I’d think his “incentive” to move on might include a few more (than Eichel) teams
For comparison re taxes
$12.6 M in the non tax states nets just less than $8 M
To net just under $8 M in the highest tax locations (Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto) the gross would need to be almost $17 M
Source :
https://cardinalpointathleteadvisors.com/nhl-tax-calculator/
Yes, it isn’t as cut and dry as above because your are taxed at away games in that jurisdiction’s rate; AND there are some accounting maneuvers that can mitigate some impacts; but there will still be a sizeable net take home differences for players with same gross in the non state tax locations; vs. the high tax locations
I think Eichel is a slam dunk. I think experience with the Sabres has him appreciating his current situation and how good it is.
Kaprizov is a bit different. The wild who definitely have a good core now have yet to experience any real team success in his tenure with the team. I think he stays but I do agree that it may not be a slam dunk
Yep
IMO , as at now; 90% Eichel stays; 70-75% Kaprizov
That said; if Stars (for instance) have space and offer him same gross as Wild; I’d see him jumping
Also, even though they play different positions, if Vegas lose Eichel; and aggressive pursuit of Kaprizov is not out of the question.
His experience with the Sabres was, that they made a long-term high contract commitment to him similar to other big contracts of the time. They made him the face of the franchise. It didn’t end well, but the franchise made a huge commitment to the player.
8787 using your Calculator above, you need to put in half the projected salary, as the other half really is not going to be affected, due to your point, the players is taxed in the jurisdiction of each away game. IMO Boston is going to be a strong player for Eichel. Both he and his wife grew up in Boston, both went to BU, and both have family in the area. You look at the difference on a 14 million AAV contract, in terms of State Income Tax, and its roughly 586K difference, and that is before any deductions, etc. The State Income Tax situation is and has been greatly overblown.
Yes , close to half (each team plays at least 1 game in each of the non state tax arenas) of all games will have different tax advantages/disadvantaged compared to home games; and there are some accounting maneuvers that can be done to mitigate some taxes
Regardless; when your in a non state tax franchise vs worst tax rate franchises (Habs, Sens, Leafs); and Gross is North of $10 M; even after all maneuvers and acknowledging only 41 home games with the super tax advantage; the net difference in take home is still substantial
Taking 1/2 the $12.6 M ($6.3 M for 41 games; and just for arguments sake assume away games balance out); the take home difference Knights or Stars etc vs Sens or Leafs is about $1.04 M EACH year; that adds up
To make up that $1 M difference ; the non free state tax location still has to offer significantly more to get same take home
Take home is not the be all snd end all:
Family considerations; city itself; climate; new city amenities; having to uproot fam; having to buy/sell home; having to learn new systems/players/line mates; is new team a contender; is your current team a contender; do other teams have want of your services, do they have space for you; etc etc
For all those reasons, even though both could jump or both could stay, IMO, Kaprizov more likely to jump than Eichel
Why do they even bother having franchises in Quebec, Ontario, New York, California with such high tax rates and nobody wanting to play there since they leave millions on the table????
How is it possible that owners put up with the disparity and the resulting failure of their franchises to generate enough revenue to attract tier one players and are forced to scavenge the leftovers.
The high tax cities are unable to attract and sign the best players because they don’t want to play there.
You know the tax situation applies to every aspect of society and where people choose to live, have their businesses and careers and somehow people in all walks of life are found living, working all over the place.
More importantly why does the same issue get raised ad nauseum as if it has any impact on any choice made by any player???
Clearly, that mantra is repeated by individuals who would look at it that way from their own perspective, and so simply assume that every pro athlete has the same attitude.
Some might … but signing in Toronto didn’t bother Tavares, nor Giroux in Ottawa … and there are many more of that ilk going back over the years.
George,
I should have also pointed out that there are 3 California teams, 4 NY/NJ teams on top of Quebec and 2 Ontario teams.
Holy Hot Takes Bettman, 10/32 teams are getting f****d and don’t realize it or do anything about it.
Bye bye Matthews, Nylander, Kneiss,Tkachuk, Stutzle, Sanderson, Suzuki, Caufield, Slafkovsky, Dobson….oh holy ice skates Bettman, they signed long term.
LOL. I guess it gives someone with those convictions something to discuss at the first hint.
Not sure the math there is working.
In this calculator you shared I put in $12M for Vegas compared to Toronto. It calculated the difference as $1.9M in taxes, but that does not factor in paying taxes in all the away games, so that tax difference gets cut significantly (Vegas has to pay taxes at all away games while Toronto pays lower taxes at all away games, including 0 taxes in some states).
So the difference between Vegas and Toronto on a $12M contract is probably closer to $1M.
Still a good chunk, but not a vast gap for players making this much money
I’m not sure what you make foleyd7 but on a
6-8yr deal that’s $6-8 million and believe me those players notice that
Foleyd7, take half the total salary and put that into the calculator and that would be essentially the difference in tax commitments. Its interesting that LA, Anaheim, and San Jose have a higher Tax rate then Winn, Edm, and Calgary, yet we always hear about this only being a situation that Canadian Team Deal with. The largest difference between any teams tax liability, is going to be one of the Non State Tax Teams, Like Vegas, and Toronto. A 12 million per year deal, has a difference of 990K. However many Toronto fans have said the endorsement deals in the Toronto area far outweigh the deals in the Non-Tax States. So does the WHOLE situation benefit a player to sign with a team like Nashville over Toronto?
I am sure the bigger cities with greater taxation also have greater endorsement money to offset the greater taxation. Also having ones face all over the many medias may be another pull for the egos of some players.
Didn’t really look into any other team, but Tampa would have 18 under contract next year and 76 million committed to those players.
With an upper limit projected at 104 million for next season, even signing Eichel at 15-16 per, it would leave Tampa with 12-13 in remaining cap space to sign 4 additional players.
It looks like Tampa could certainly pull it off if they wanted . And that’s without moving a single player.
With camps due to open in a couple of weeks, these 26 teams find themselves with no RFAs left to sign at the major league level and are either at the 23-man max or 22 (with two showing 24).
There are 15 with minor-league RFAs still unsigned (shown in brackets) but their conclusion won’t affect the cap space unless they make the major league roster at some point. In order of available cap (most to least):
SJ $19,740,832 – 23 13F 8D 2G (C Alexander Chmelevski, RW Martin Kaut);
CLB $15,567,501 – 23 14F 7D 2G (LD Tim Berni);
PITT $13,053,571 – 23 13F 8D 2G – G Filip Lindberg; C/LW Vasiliy Ponomarev (signed in KHL);
DET $11,992,461 – 23 13F 8D 2G – LD Eemil Viro;
CAR $10,644,291 – 23 14F 7D 2G
UTAH $6,682,143 – 23 13F 7D 3G
BUFF $5,190,319 – 23 13F 8D 2G
SEAT $4,599,287 – 23 14F 7D 2G (LD Peetro Seppala);
MINN $4,411,835 – 23 14F 7D 2G
OTT $4,294,286 – 22 13F 7D 2G (LD Donovan Sebrango, LW Alex Formenton, C/LW Jan Jenik, RD Maxence Guenette);
WASH $4,125,000 – 23 13F 8D 2G (LD Tobias Geisser);
WPG $3,963,810 – 23 13F 8D 2G – RW Rasmus Kupari signed in Swiss League, LW Kristian Versalainen);
VANC $3,270,000 – 22 13F 7D 2G;
L.A. $2,668,333 – 23 13F 8D 2G;
BOST $2,081,667 – 23 14F 7D 2G;
TOR $1,919,722 – 23 14F 7D 2G (C Semyon Der-Argushintsev, C/LW Roni Hirvonen, RD Topi Niemela, G Dennis Hildeby;
NYI $1,625,000 – 24 15F 6D 3G (LW/C Ruslan Iskhakov);
COL $1,330,000 – 23 14F 7D 2G (LW Sampo Ranta, LD Sergei Boikov);
TAM $1,180,001 – 23 15F 6D 2G (RW Waltteri Merela, G Hugo Ainefelt);
NYR $777,976 – 23 13F 8D 2G (RW Lauri Pajuniemi, C/LW Karl Henriksson);
ST.L $625,151 – 23 14F 7D 2G (C/LW Mikhail Abramov);
DAL $405,084 – 23 14F 7D 2G;
PHA – $370,238 – 23 12F 8D 3G;
EDM $225,834 – 23 14F 7D 2G;
FLA $4,500,000 OVER – 23 14F 7D 2G (C/LW Aleksi Heponiemi, C/RW Logan Hutsko, LW Oliver Okuliar);
MTL $5,931,667 OVER – 24 14F 7D 3G.
But for these 7 the foot-dragging grinds on with main RFAs awaiting new deals (marked with *) also showing is their cap reserve (most to least), which will be altered once the RFAs are concluded, roster commitment, and in 3 cases, minor league RFAs still needing new deals:
ANAHEIM $20,538,811 – 22 12F 7D 3G – C *Mason McTavish, RW Judd Caulfield;
CHICAGO $18,662,024 – 22 12F 7D 3G – LD *Wyatt Kaiser;
CALGARY $15,412,500 – 22 13F 7D 2G – C *Connor Zary, LD Nikita Okhotyuk;
NASHVILLE $9,341,039 – 22 12F 8D 2G – RW *Luke Evangelista;
NEW JERSEY $6,131,667 – 23 14F 7D 2G – LD *Luke Hughes;
VEGAS $7,638,571 OVER – 22 13F 7D 2G – RW *Alexander Holtz, C Ivan Morozov.
George O you should be working in the Analytics department for one of those teams!
Heh – a few minutes after I posted the list, and days of non-action on the signing front, Ottawa inked minor-league C/LW Jan Jenik for 1 year @ $775,000 at the end of which he becomes a UFAGroup6.
He’s 6′ 2″ 200lbs drafted by Arizona in Rd 3 65th overall in 2018, and in 2024 was dealt to Ottawa by Utah for Egor Sokolov. Minimal NHL exposure so far – 24gp – all but 2 w. Arizona – 4g 2a 6pts in Ariz.
Busy bees in Ottawa today – also dipped into the nether regions of the UFA heap by signing Group6 6’3″ 212lb RD UFA Cameron Crotty to a 2-year minor league $812,500 per deal.
He was a 3rd Rd pick – 82nd overall – by Arizona in 2017 – played in just 1 game with Minnesota this past season
Seriously doubt Vegas would bring in Marner if they thought they’d risk losing Eichel. Bumping him up a few mil per year won’t be an issue.
Guerin finally getting some cap space after expensive buyouts in past. Zuc and Tarasenko both come off books next season. That’s over 8 mil right there. I’d get Kirill signed asap.
Exactly, Vegas has 19+ million in UFA’s coming off the books next summer, that number includes Eichel, and Petro’s career is likely over, so that’s an additional 8.8 in cap space.
If Eichel wants to stay in Vegas it shouldn’t be a problem.
Brian, unless I’m reading it wrong, Pietrangelo’s $8.8 mil doesn’t come off the books until the summer after the 2026-27 season, so you might think they’d be hanging onto that like Gunga Din for LTIR relief (unless the NHL has introduced new rules on the concept before then).
As for the rest of the UFA freed-up cap next summer, yes, Eichel’s $10,000,000 is the biggest chunk of the $19+ mil but you can bet that if he re-ups he will eat up the largest portion of that “freed-up” cap.
Then there’s $9.2 of the $19+ mil taken up by the other pending UFAs Smith ($2,000,000), Saad ($2,000,000), Sissons ($1,428,572), Schwindt ($825,000), Lauzon ($2,000,000) and Hutton ($975,000).
They also take up various positions on the current roster, and even if none are retained, they still have to find – and pay – replacements at least as experienced and as good or better – which won’t come from their 27th ranked prospect pool in the form of ELCs.
So, maybe keeping Eichel and his expected huge cap hit won’t be quite that cut and dried.
We have watched Vegas get out of these situations for years, however IMO Eichel heads to Boston, pays higher taxes and is closer to he and his wife’s family and friends.
Duh – sorry Brian – here I am thinking along the lines of the current $90.5 mil max cap. I should have considered the estimated $104,000,000 cap for 2026-27 – which, if it’s established, adds another $8.5 mil to the pot, bringing it to $27,728,542.
A jump to $15-$16 mil for Eichel would still give them anywhere from $11 mil and change to $12 mil and change – more than enough to either re-sign some of those other UFAs – or go after better options in that year’s UFA market.
And the next year – when Pietrangelo does come off the books – and if the cap goes up again – they’d still have lots to re-up Stone and Karlsson (if they want to) by then).
Geeeesh – “current $95.5 mil max cap ….” – it’s been a long day
In this article on HockeyFeed, Seravali still thinks Toronto is still going to bring in Roslovic, despite having less than $2 mil in cap space. But then the article goes on to say “There was some speculation that Roslovic could head back to the Carolina Hurricanes for another season, but Seravalli indicated that he believes that possibility to be unlikely. “Roslovic career season last year with Carolina, the door is probably most likely closed there, I don’t wanna say officially but they don’t really have much room,” said the insider.”
Maple Leafs attempting to add another forward before the season.
So, with $1,919,722 in cap reserve and 23 committed to – 14F 7D 2G – Toronto could still make the necessary roster moves to do it … but Carolina, with $10,644,291 in cap space and also 23 committed to – 14F 7D 2G – could not make the necessary moves!
Unless I’m on a roll today when it comes to overlooking salient facts, what the heck am I missing here? LOL
This is the link for the above-mentioned article heading
https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/maple-leafs-attempting-to-add-another-forward-before-the-season