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Charley Walters: Wild hope to keep Kaprizov in U.S. this summer

charley walters, pioneer press
·12 min read

The Minnesota Wild’s best player, Kirill Kaprizov, last summer experienced a harrowing journey getting back from homeland Russia in time for this season. The Wild hope to be able to keep the team’s leading scorer in America this offseason.

“I can assure you that we will have a very friendly conversation with Kirill, and if he wants to go to the Grand Canyon or the Painted Desert or Mount Rushmore, we’ll pay for what it takes,” Wild owner Craig Leipold said.

>> Meanwhile, even Leipold has been surprised by his team’s success as the playoffs approach.

“In complete honesty, I cannot say that this is where I saw our team headed at the beginning of the season, but as the season went on and on and different players were stepping up and lines started jelling together … am I surprised that we’re here? Yeah, maybe a little bit,” he said. “But we’re certainly enjoying the moment.”

That moment meant the Wild late in the regular season were in contention for first place in the Central Division and Western Conference.

>> It was mentioned to Leipold that he knew what he was doing when in January he signed Matt Boldy to a $49 million, seven-year contract.

Boldy, just 21, has 30 goals, including three hat tricks since then.

“Billy (GM Guerin) knew what he was doing when we signed him to that deal,” Leipold said. “He’s a great kid and we’ve got him for a long time. We’re very happy with that signing.”

Boldy’s goals are second on the team to those of Kaprizov, 25, who is in the second season of a $45 million, five-year deal. Kaprizov, who has missed the last month due to injury, has 39 goals.

>> Leipold intends to extend Kaprizov when he’s allowed by NHL rules.

“That will be awesome,” he said of Kaprizov and Boldy continuing to play together.

>> By the way, has Leipold extended Guerin’s contract?

“Let me just say he’s going to be with us for a long time,” he said.

Leipold said coach Dean Evason’s contract isn’t up anytime soon.

>> Wishing the best for Lorri Kurtz, wife of retired Wild broadcaster Bob Kurtz. Lorri is recovering well from triple bypass surgery in Naples Fla.

>> The Vikings spent more money this offseason than was expected considering that wide receiver Justin Jefferson’s new contract is expected to be worth more than $150 million over five years. Outside of a half-dozen quarterbacks who drive the NFL, Jefferson might be the most popular player in the league right now. Look for Jefferson to get his new deal this summer, probably just before training camp.

>> For a long time, the Vikings overpaid for Kirk Cousins, a mid-level QB who probably ranks between 10th and 15th in the NFL. It turns out that his average salary of $35 million the last two years, in retrospect, probably wasn’t a bad deal considering what QBs going forward will be paid.

>> Extending Cousins, if he plays as well as last season, probably would cost nearly $45 million a year. Consider that Daniel Jones just got a new deal worth $82 million over the first two years from the Giants. No doubt Cousins’ agent was seeking nearly $90 million in a two-year extension, which was prohibitive for the Vikings but could actually be market value for Cousins.

It looks like the Vikings are setting up to move on from Cousins after next season.

>> Two of the most popular PGA Champions Tour players are Minnesota golf icons Tom Lehman and Tim Herron, both of whom competed in the recent Galleri Classic tournament at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

Both are coming off major surgeries the past year, Lehman a total right knee replacement and Herron a right hand surgery for Dupuytren’s contracture.

Lehman shot 4-under-par in the 54-hole Galleri, tying for 32nd and winning $14,190. Herron shot 3-over, tying for 62nd and winning $3,080.

Lehman, 64, at the Galleri told the Pioneer Press that his knee, following July surgery, is fine. How long does he intend to play on tour?

“I’m starting to feel a little more human again and getting more speed and pop,” he said. “I enjoy the preparation, I enjoy the game and I like working at it, but results are everything. If you don’t get the results, it can be a pretty frustrating operation.

“If I can feel good about my results and my commitment, I’ll keep playing for a while longer. Not a lot longer.”

Lehman, who finished second in the 1994 Masters tournament and made the cut nine times at Augusta, has a busy course design business and this year is finishing work at Cragun’s Resort in Brainerd. The former Gopher from Alexandria also has an ongoing relationship that include master plans at North Oaks and Edina Country Club.

>> Tour golf around the world is considering use of balls that limit the lengths of drives, perhaps 15 yards fewer for big hitters.

“This thing should have been dealt with 20 or 25 years ago,” Lehman said. “The fact that it wasn’t, I kind of feel the horses are out of the barn. I say let the guys hit it, play the game the way they’re playing it and find a way to try to make guys hit it straight.”

Lehman, even at his age, figures his drives now carry about 265 yards.

>> Asked if the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf has contacted Lehman, who in 1997 was the No. 1-ranked golfer in the world, Lehman laughed.

“They know better than to call me,” he said, adding he wouldn’t consider LIV “for a second. I’m a loyal guy. The PGA Tour’s been great to me. I love the Tour, what it’s done for our family and for me. It’s provided a great life, so I have no need for the LIV.”

>> Herron’s surgery has worked for his hand, but not his fingers, so he has to tape two fingers together on his right hand to play. His Dupuytren’s disease is hereditary — his father and sister have it, too.

“It’s a struggle because I can’t hit as many (practice) balls — it hurts my fingers,” he said.

Herron, 53, won four times on the PGA Tour and made the cut four times in the Masters, He still flies drives 270 yards. As for the world tours’ proposal to limit golf balls’ hitting distance, Herron said, “it’s going to take them a long time to figure this one out.”

>> Herron, as popular as he is (he’s nicknamed Lumpy), probably would accept an invitation to play on the LIV Golf if asked.

“At my age, yeah,” he said, “but I haven’t got that phone call from (LIV CEO Greg) Norman yet. I think about Pat Perez and stuff. His (PGA Tour) career is almost over, and I don’t think there’s any other sport where you get a big bonus at the end of your career.”

People who know say Perez, 47, made almost $18 million from LIV last year.

>> Minnetonka resident Mario Tiziani, who in 2021 won the State Senior Open Championships in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Arizona, shot 69-70-67 and won $80,960 playing in the Galleri with an exemption.

Tiziani, 52, whose brother-in-law is Champions Tour star Steve Stricker, said he might play in the Minnesota Senior Open this year.

“I’m week to week,” he said of his golfing career.

>> Sales of logoed merchandise at Augusta National during the Masters are estimated at $1 million an hour or $16,000 every minute, per the Huddle Up newsletter.

>> Masters tickets for Saturday-Sunday at Augusta National were $10,837 apiece on stubhub.com; as of Saturday morning, 73 were available at that price.

>> John Anderson, the Gophers baseball coach who has been inducted into four halls of fame and is the Big Ten’s all-time winningest coach, on his young, inexperienced (7-21, 2-2 Big Ten) team this season: “Baseball is like life — lots of good fortune and lots of misfortune. How you handle it determines how much you learn and grow.”

>> Brett Becker, the former Mounds View and St. John’s baseball star, is manager of pro scouting and baseball operations for the San Diego Padres, who have been built into a World Series contender.

>> Matt Weimann, the 6-4, 307-pound ex-University of St. Thomas MVP center from Hill-Murray named the Pioneer League’s offensive player of the year, excelled at the Gophers recent pro day and is said to be on the Vikings’ radar.

>> After refereeing an ESPN co-main event boxing match between Joet Gonzalez and Enrique Vivas in Tulsa, Okla., a week ago, St. Paul’s Mark Nelson headed to Tokyo to work his 104th world boxing championship on Saturday between champion Kenshiro Teraji of Japan and challenger Anthony Olascuaga from California. Nelson also has judged 10 world title fights. His 104 total has come in 19 different countries.

Don’t print that

>> Brian Dutcher is extremely loyal to San Diego State, which last weekend he coached to the NCAA men’s basketball championship game before losing to UConn. But don’t think for a moment that the Bloomington Jefferson and University of Minnesota grad and son of former Gophers coach Jim Dutcher wouldn’t have had a tough decision to make had the Gophers job two years ago been offered and been a right offer.

Dutcher is paid $1.33 million this year. Gophers coach Ben Johnson is paid $1.95 million this year.

Brian was thrilled that his father, who coached the Gophers to their last Big Ten basketball championship (1981-82) and turns 90 in eight days, was able to attend the title game in Houston.

>> Virginia, Oregon and Marquette are among dozens of schools from coast to coast via the NCAA transfer portal expressing interest in 6-foot-6 freshman playmaker Andrew Rohde of 19-victory University of St. Thomas. He has yet to make recruiting visits.

>> Carlos Correa, who in January signed a $200 million contract with the Twins, just bought a furnished 9,500-square foot house on Lake Minnetonka for $7.5 million.

>> If the Vikings were to trade Danielle Hunter — the team’s most tradable asset, by the way — and can convince Za’Darius Smith to stay, the two outside pass rushers in the 3-4 defense would be Smith and new Viking Marcus Davenport.

Trading Hunter before the start of the April 27 draft, combined with the 23rd overall pick, might allow the Vikings to move up to take a QB in the first round. The young QB could sit on the bench next season and in 2024 take over as starter. That way, the Vikings would have freed themselves of the money they pay Kirk Cousins and need to pay Justin Jefferson. Otherwise, the Vikings have to wait until 2024 to draft a QB.

The Vikings have to either to keep Hunter and pay him a boatload (north of $20 million a year) or trade Smith.

>> The Vikings, currently with the No. 23 overall pick in the draft, are favorites to pick QB Hendon Hooker from Tennessee, per BetOnline.ag.

>> It’s just a matter of time before the Vikings trade Dalvin Cook.

>> Of the 10 starters (nine position players plus pitcher) for the Twins in their home opener on Friday, only three came up through the Twins’ system.

>> The Twins are due $42 million in rights fees from bankrupt Diamond’s Bally Sports Network, which continues to televise games, per The Athletic.

>> New Wisconsin men’s hockey coach Mike Hastings will be paid $700,000 in his first season with the Badgers. Gophers coach Bob Motzko, whose team on Saturday played in the NCAA championship game for the first time in 20 years and who last week was named Division I coach of the year, is paid an average of $660,000 a season. There is no classier hockey coach than Motzko.

>> It’s a decent bet that advertising adjacent Target Field’s now-newsy outfield pitch clocks would be worth at least $400,000 a year in revenue for the Twins.

>> Look for the Vikings, when new NFL team valuations are released by Forbes just before the start of the regular season, to be worth at least $4.5 billion. That would be the minimum that owners Zygi and Mark Wilf could expect if they put the team, for which they paid $600 million in 2005, on the market for sale. Last year, the Vikings’ worth was $3.9 billion, per Forbes.

>> Jordan Leopold remains the last Gophers hockey player, in 2002, to be named Hobey Baker award winner. Leopold, 43, who played 13 seasons in the NHL, was in Tampa, Fla., to cheer on his alma mater against Quinnipiac on Saturday.

Its been 20 years since the Gophers won the NCAA title. Why?

“Isn’t that the million-dollar question?” Leopold said. “There’s so much parity. Anybody can win on any given day.”

>> The 2003 Gophers NCAA champions are planning on 20-year reunion this summer.

>> Rob Fornasiere, the esteemed retired Gophers baseball associate coach, is doing Big Ten baseball analysis on ESPN+.

>> The Twins will finish one game behind the Guardians in the AL Central but will defeat Cleveland in the playoffs before losing to the Astros, projects Sports Illustrated.

Overheard

> NBC Sports’ NFL analyst Peter King on the Carolina Panthers signing ex-Viking Adam Thielen: “I think if I were the Bills, I’d have been more aggressive in trying to sign (Thielen). I don’t get a building team signing a player in his age-33 year. Thielen belonged with a contender.”

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