WASHINGTON, September 30. /TASS/. Russian ice hockey forward Kirill Kaprizov has signed an eight-year contract with the US-based National Hockey League (NHL) club Minnesota Wild that will make him the highest paid player in the history of the league, the club’s press office announced in a statement on Tuesday.

"Minnesota Wild President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has signed left wing Kirill Kaprizov to an eight-year, $136 million contract extension ($17 million average annual value) that begins in the 2026-27 season and goes through the 2033-34 season," the statement reads.

The previous record belonged to German-born forward Leon Draisaitl, who in September 2024 signed an eight-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers for a total sum of $112 million.

Kaprizov, 28, has been playing for the Wild since 2020. In 319 regular season games, he has 185 goals and 201 assists. In 2021, he was awarded with the Calder Memorial Trophy, given to the NHL's rookie of the year.

Before moving to the US-based league, he played in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) — for clubs Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Salavat Yulayev Ufa and CSKA Moscow — winning the Gagarin Cup with the latter club in 2019.

In the gold medal match at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, Kaprizov scored the game-winning goal for Russia in overtime against Germany (4-3). He also won a bronze medal at the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.