ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Craig Leipold stood on the concourse of the newly renamed Grand Casino Arena, opened his sport coat and smiled.
"I've got Kirill's contract in my pocket," he joked.
The Minnesota Wild owner was here Wednesday to celebrate a new partnership with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and a 14-year naming rights deal with Grand Casino. But Leipold, like anyone with the team, knows the biggest question on everyone's mind is when the Wild will come to an agreement with superstar Kirill Kaprizov.
"I just feel like we're not that far off," Leipold said. "I kind of think we're there. I like to believe when Kirill comes over and gets a sense again for the excitement and the love of the city, I think we'll be moving forward in a good direction."
Kaprizov, less than a year away from unrestricted free agency, is scheduled to arrive in the Twin Cities from Russia in the next week, and Leipold expects the 28-year-old winger will have a face-to-face meeting with president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin shortly after. Leipold doesn't usually get involved in contract talks -- that's Guerin's space -- but the owner admitted he could be part of the meeting if asked. "We'll probably, likely, do it that way," he said.
Money isn't expected to be an issue here. Leipold said last fall that no team will offer Kaprizov more money than the Wild will, and the Wild are also the only team that can offer the winger eight years. An eight-year deal with a $15 million or $16 million average annual value doesn't seem like it's out of the question.
"This will be a huge deal -- likely the biggest in the NHL ever," Leipold said. "There's no better human being or better hockey player or better person than Kirill. I think it will be a good conversation that we'll have with him. I'm very anxious and looking forward to that conversation. I think we'll move quickly after that."
An extension would put a lot of anxiety about the future to rest. The Wild have not won a playoff series since 2015, but last season's six-game loss to the Vegas Golden Knights felt different. They were close -- a Gustav Nyquist offside in Game 5 from taking control of the series. "I've almost forgotten about it," Leipold quipped.
Despite the offseason additions being mostly just Vladimir Tarasenko and Nico Sturm, Leipold is optimistic about this year's team.
"I like the roster better this year than last year," Leipold said. "I think we've added just a couple pieces that complement our team. There's a lot of fun things I think we're going to do this year -- if we can stay healthy. That's a big part of it. I think goaltending is going to be really, really good. I think people are really wondering what it's going to be like. I believe our goaltending will be in the very top of the league.
"We all know we've got really good skaters. We've got great defense. We've got young guys coming in. I like this team better than last year's team, and I'm just excited. I think we're going to do a lot of fun things."
Leipold famously said during last preseason that he thought July 1 would be like "Christmas" for the Wild, knowing most of the dead cap hits from the Zach Parise-Ryan Suter buyouts would be mostly off the books. It turned out not to be a big splash, with the Sturm signing and Tarasenko coming in a trade. But Leipold understood the market. With the cap going up, a lot of teams kept their free agents, and there weren't many sellers.
The Wild still have around $5 million of cap space heading into the season that they can use for deals, including at the trade deadline.
"We kind of knew it was going to happen that way after we looked at who was available," Leipold said. "We kept looking at it and we'd go, 'We just don't see the fit.' I like what Billy is doing, and we're keeping our powder dry.
"Assets will become available during the year, particularly at the trade deadline. So if we can identity somebody who really fits our team, can make a huge difference, let's just wait until the trade deadline. You can pick up some exciting people."
The Minnesota Timberwolves were recently sold. At one point in the past year, the Minnesota Twins were for sale. But Leipold, the Wild owner since 2008, said he has no interest in selling. He said he really hasn't gotten offers because people know he isn't selling.
"My son works for the team," Leipold said. "This is going to be a family asset. We're keeping it in the family. We love it. This is the kind of thing where if you get out of sports, you're not getting back in. It's just too much fun to let go."
Leipold and St. Paul mayor Melvin Carter talked Wednesday about their relationship and commitment with the Wild. "This partnership is critical for us," Carter said. But Leipold and the Wild are also looking for funds from the state for a planned renovation of the 25-year-old arena. They've scaled back their project from a $769 million renovation to a $488 million one. Leipold said the team is committing $200 million, with St. Paul and the county pitching in $200 million. "If we can get $100 million from the state, we've got ourselves a new place here," Leipold said.
Would Leipold consider moving the team to another city, like Minneapolis, if they can't get the upgrades?
"That's a really interesting question," Leipold said. "I'm a St. Paul person. I really am. I can't see that happening. But I also know we can't survive long term in this arena. And so we'll look at all the options if the time is ever right. It's not right right now.
"We believe we're getting some momentum up at the Capitol. All of our resources and all our time is spent on getting this arena refurbished. We're not spending any time right now looking at options outside St. Paul."