The Minnesota Wild handed out the largest contract in NHL history on Tuesday to star winger Kirill Kaprizov, as the 28-year-old will earn $136 million on an eight-year term through the 2033-34 season.

It’s a deal worth more in total money that the one Alex Ovechkin signed with the Washington Capitals ($124 million) in 2008, and carries a higher average annual value (AAV) than the one signed by Leon Draisaitl with the Edmonton Oilers ($14 million) last September.

It’s a contract that has sent shockwaves through the NHL. Some will benefit from its repercussions. Some will not. Here are the winners and losers of the Kaprizov contract, as we see them:

Winner: Bill Guerin

It was Guerin that finally got Kaprizov to leave the KHL for the NHL in 2021, succeeding where two previous Wild GMs had failed. Now he’s the guy that’s helped convinced Kaprizov to stay in Minnesota.

Guerin faced some enormous challenges in getting this done. One of them was the lure of unrestricted free agency under a rising salary cap, as Kaprizov wouldn’t have suffered from a lack of suitors. Some of those suitors might have been more appealing than the Wild: As one NHL agent told ESPN, the Wild’s status as a mid-tier Stanley Cup contender and Minnesota not being “a destination” for stars worked against them. Kaprizov had the hammer in negotiations, as was evidenced by the windfall he eventually received.

But Guerin also had some advantages here. His team could give Kaprizov the eighth contract year that the player reportedly wanted out of his next deal. He also had the financial backing of ownership to offer the richest contract in NHL history — $128 million earlier in September — and then increase that offer when Kaprizov didn’t sign.

Guerin also benefitted from having Kaprizov’s contract come up before a major change in the CBA rules. His contract pays out $128 million of his money in annual signing bonuses. That’s 94% of its value. Starting in Sept. 2026, contracts will only be able to offer signing bonuses worth 60% of the “aggregate compensation payable under the contract.”

Guerin landed the plane at time when many felt Kaprizov’s initial rejection of a record contract was his rejection of the franchise. Whether you agree with the compensation or not, give credit where it’s due: He got it done.

Loser: Kevin Cheveldayoff

Since 2021-22, Kyle Connor has scored just five fewer goals (153) than Kaprizov (158), having played 44 more games than the Minnesota winger. That’s on a 14.2% shooting percentage. Simply put, the 28-year-old Jet winger is as elite a goal-scorer as you’ll find on the wing — and as an unrestricted free agent next summer, should be compensated as such.

The question is whether that’ll happen in Winnipeg, where he’s entering his 10th season, or elsewhere.

If Connor was waiting for a salary domino to fall, this one landed with a sonic boom. Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff just watched Kaprizov reset the market for a player that scored 41 goals and had 56 assists for a career best 97 points in 82 games.

Cheveldayoff has done a masterful job retaining other stars like goalie Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele, both at $8.5 million AAV over seven seasons. Market conditions were more favorable to the Jets when they re-upped in 2023. They aren’t now, thanks in part to Kaprizov.

The conundrum for Cheveldayoff and the Jets: Is Connor worth that money?

“He scores goals, but gives a lot back,” one NHL executive said.

Winner: Paul Theofanous

Wild owner Craig Leipold told The Athletic on Tuesday that the team was still convinced Kaprizov wanted to re-sign even after he didn’t agree to an eight-year, $128 million contract extension offer on Sept. 9.

“He never raised the money issue. That was always the agent,” Leipold said. “So, I mean, I think we always thought that we’re going to get this thing done, and we thought, at least in the last week or so, 17 was the number.”

Theofanous, Kaprizov’s agent, is a legendarily tough negotiator. He not only managed to get another $8 million added to an offer that would have already set a new NHL contract value record, but he negotiated a contract structure that pays Kaprizov $128 million in “buyout-proof” bonus money. Theofanous dug his heels in and won huge, despite the Wild’s belief that Kaprizov wouldn’t take this to free agency.

Loser: Player movement

The era of player retention continues.

The upper limit of the NHL salary cap this season is $95.5 million. It’s been estimated that the ceiling will be at least $104 million in 2026-27, the first time the NHL’s salary cap will have crested over the century mark. Some predicted this inflation would lead to a spike in player movement, as teams had more to spend on acquiring talent.

On the contrary, the rising cap has seen teams retain their players throughout the offseason, no longer sweating out the pressure points that the cap created. Kaprizov is the latest name to stay where his stuff is, and he’s likely not the last.

Winner: Getting locked in early

Hart Levine of the salary cap site Puck Pedia believes that hockey fans just have to accept that this is the new normal under the salary cap.

“It’s a big number, but we just have to get used to living in a world where the cap is going up each year. It’s going up 9% from this year to next year,” he told me.

It’s all about context. Heck, even Kaprizov’s deal might look like a bargain in the next few seasons.

Take Draisaitl’s contract that he signed last September. Levine says that under next year’s salary cap, Draisaitl’s contract would have been worth $15.25 million against the cap. Conversely, if you took Kaprizov’s contract and put into current cap dollars, the AAV would be around $15.6 million.

One NHL executive likened the rise in the salary cap to a “tidal wave” that’ll just keep adding more and more large contracts as it grows. Which means the key for teams is locking players in before that wave crests.

When discussing good cap management with some NHL sources, one team that came up multiple times was the Carolina Hurricanes.

Their front office, now led by GM Eric Tulsky, has locked up several players to long-term deals ahead of the dramatic salary cap increase: Forwards Sebastian Aho ($9.75 million through 2031-32), Seth Jarvis ($7,420,087 through 2031-32) and Logan Stankoven ($6 million through 2033-34), as well as newly acquired defenseman K’Andre Miller ($7.5 million through 2032-33) and forward Nikolaj Ehlers ($8.5 million through 2030-31).

The Canes have their core locked up long-term at a reasonable rate, and the flexibility to still go after big players via trades as they’ve done the last two seasons with Jake Guentzel and Mikko Rantanen.

Speaking of which …

Losers: Mitch Marner and Mikko Rantanen

Kaprizov’s contract will no doubt continue the dialogue about NHL cities with high income taxes and NHL cities that don’t have income taxes, a.k.a. the teams that happen to be winning Stanley Cups with some frequency lately.

According to an analysis by the Tax Foundation, Minnesota has the fifth-highest top income tax rate in the U.S., at 9.85%. There’s no question that’s a factor in Kaprizov getting $136 million over eight seasons, because he wouldn’t have gotten that same number in a no-tax state. Jeff Marek of Daily Faceoff spoke with one player agent who said Kaprizov’s average annual value in a place like Florida would have been around $14 million.

If that’s the case, then Kaprizov still would have made more annually than Mitch Marner of the Vegas Golden Knights and Mikko Rantanen of the Dallas Stars, who both signed mega-contracts in the last year worth $12 million against the cap through 2032-33.

Marner’s points-per-game average of the last three seasons was equal to Kaprizov’s (1.24) while Rantanen’s was right behind them (1.22). If either of them had the power of clairvoyance and could see what Kaprizov just earned, what would those contracts have looked like?

Winner: Kirill Kaprizov

We must obviously shout out the man himself, who set a new standard for NHL contracts in both overall value and average annual value. From a production standpoint, he’s among the best offensive hockey players in the world: He plays to a 50-goal pace, is a dynamic playmaker and shown to be a more committed defensive player than one might assume given his gaudy stats.

But there’s one number that’s never added up for Kaprizov, and that’s games played. The winger has played over 80 games once in his NHL career, back in 2021-22 when finished seventh in the MVP voting. Last season saw him limited to 41 games. He’s 28 years old, turning 29 next April.

Again, it’s a credit to Kaprizov that he has still managed to post astounding numbers despite those injuries. But for this level of investment, the Wild need him on the ice and not in the press box. Minnesota was 63-41-12 with Kaprizov in the lineup over the last two seasons and 21-23-4 without him. He’s a difference-maker.

The most complicated contract decision in the NHL just got a little more complicated.

McDavid is entering the final year of his contract with the Oilers. As we’ve written previously, everything is on the table for his future — from taking a shorter-term deal to remain in Edmonton to leaving for what would unquestionably become the richest free-agent contract the NHL has ever seen.

The latest speculation around the league: If McDavid does decide to remain with the Oilers beyond this season, it wouldn’t be for a max contract, with the idea being that McDavid would want fair compensation while giving Edmonton GM Stan Bowman flexibility to improve the team in pursuit of McDavid’s elusive Stanley Cup ring.

Yet there are also those who believe that McDavid should secure the bag even if he stays in Edmonton — after all, why should he pay for the team’s cap-management missteps?

McDavid is the best hockey player in the world. Whatever he wants on a new contract in Edmonton, they’re going to give him. It’s the “whatever he wants” that’s now a thornier issue, as the bar has been raised from Draisaitl’s $14 million to Kaprizov’s $17 million. Will McDavid choose to reset that bar whenever — or wherever — he signs his new deal?

CLEVELAND — Tarik Skubal tied a franchise postseason record with 14 strikeouts and the Detroit Tigers defeated the Cleveland Guardians 2-1 on Tuesday in Game 1 of their AL Wild Card Series.

Will Vest recorded the final four outs for Detroit, surviving a tense ninth inning after Cleveland star Jose Ramirez got hung up between third base and home for the second out.

The Tigers, who struggled down the stretch, allowing Cleveland to secure the AL Central title, can advance to the division series round for the second straight year with a win Wednesday.

“It means a lot to take the ball in Game 1,” Skubal said. “To have the trust in our whole organization, it means a lot. And it doesn’t really matter how we got here. We’re up 1-0 in a best of three.”

Detroit scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning when Zach McKinstry‘s safety squeeze scored Riley Greene from third.

Ramirez led off the ninth with an infield single and advanced to third when shortstop Javier Baez threw wide of first base. Vest struck out pinch-hitter George Valera, then Kyle Manzardo hit a grounder to Vest. Ramirez broke for home but was cut off by Vest, who chased him down and tagged him out.

“That ball’s two feet either way, he scores,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “It just happened to go right back to Vest. So we play aggressive. We always do. We run the bases aggressive. I wouldn’t play that any other way.”

C.J. Kayfus then hit a flyout to Baez in shallow left to end it.

Skubal, who is favored to win his second straight AL Cy Young Award, set a career high for strikeouts. He was dominant and unfazed as he pitched on the same mound where one week ago, he threw a 99 mph fastball that struck Cleveland designated hitter David Fry in the nose and face during the sixth inning.

“I thought my outing was coming to a close,” Skubal said when asked about being allowed to continue on into the eighth inning. “But I was ready to go back out there. I’m never going to take myself out of a game, and I don’t ever really want the handshake.”

The right-hander went 7 2/3 innings and threw 107 pitches, one off his career high, including 73 strikes. He allowed one run on only three hits, with two being infield singles, and walked three. His fastball averaged 99.1 mph, 1.6 mph above his season average.

Skubal outdueled Cleveland starter Gavin Williams, who was just as effective but hurt by a pair of Guardians errors. Williams allowed two unearned runs in six-plus innings on five hits with eight strikeouts and one walk.

“I was just worried about doing my best to execute each pitch,” Skubal said, “and just do what makes me a good pitcher, and that’s getting ahead, and getting guys into leverage.”

Detroit took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Kerry Carpenter scored on Spencer Torkelson’s two-out bloop single to left field. Carpenter got aboard on a base hit to right but advanced to second on a fielding error by Johnathan Rodriguez.

The Guardians finally got to Skubal in the fourth by not having a ball leave the infield.

Angel Martinez hit a slow grounder between Skubal and second baseman Gleyber Torres to lead off the inning. He advanced to second on Ramírez’s walk.

With two outs and runners on first and second, Gabriel Arias hit a high chopper over Skubal. The ball landed on the infield grass between the mound and second base. Skubal fielded the ball as Martinez rounded third. Martinez’s left hand touched the plate before Detroit catcher Dillon Dingler applied the tag.

Martinez was originally ruled out on the head-first slide, but it was overturned by instant replay to tie the game at 1-1.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A group led by Florida-based real estate developer Patrick Zalupski closed on its purchase of the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, finalizing the sale of the team from former owner Stuart Sternberg.

Major League Baseball owners unanimously approved the transaction last week. The price was not disclosed.

“It’s an incredible honor to become the stewards of the Tampa Bay Rays, a franchise with a proud history and a bright future,” Zalupski said in a statement. “We’re all energized by the responsibility to serve Rays fans everywhere and this great game. … We will work hard to earn the respect and confidence of our fans and new MLB partners, and we are excited about the upcoming challenge to deliver a world-class experience on and off the field.”

Zalupski’s group, which also includes Bill Cosgrove and Ken Babby, is expected to restart the search for a new ballpark. The Rays in March withdrew from a $1.3 billion project to construct a new ballpark adjacent to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, citing a hurricane and delays that likely drove up the proposal’s cost.

“Major League Baseball is pleased to welcome Patrick and his partners to the ownership ranks,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said. “Their collective experience and passion for the game will serve the Rays well as they enter this exciting new chapter.”

Sternberg took control of the team from founding owner Vince Naimoli in November 2005 and rebranded it the Rays from the Devil Rays after the 2007 season. The Rays won AL East titles in 2008, 2010, 2020 and 2021 and twice reached the World Series, losing to Philadelphia in 2008 and to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020.