There's never been a better ad for St. Paul than Kirill Kaprizov's new contract. I think by this point in negotiations, most hockey observers assumed that the superstar winger would at least take a sip of all that the NHL had to offer and hit free agency at the end of the season. But there's no need for him to tour New York, or fly to Vancouver, or sample the myriad delicacies of Columbus, Ohio. Kaprizov has decided that he wants to stay put with the organization that drafted him as a teenager. In a deal announced by the Wild on Tuesday morning, he'll earn $136 million over eight years of work in which he'll attempt to lead Minnesota out of icy purgatory and into ... well, at least the second round of the postseason.

Kaprizov's deal is a record-setting one, and it reorients expectations around what a superstar is worth at a time when the salary cap is rising some $25 million over the next three seasons. He surely won't be the highest-paid player in hockey for longer than it takes Connor McDavid to sign his next contract, but given what he means to his team, Kaprizov is worthy of...