Minnesota Wild star Kirill Kaprizov has completed his fifth season in the NHL with his team falling to the Vegas Golden Knights in six games in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

There’s probably not a person in the Minnesota Wild organization who knows Kirill Kaprizov more than Mats Zuccarello. They’ve shared a bromance for years, on the ice as linemates and off of it. The Russian superstar is known as “Uncle Kirill” to Zuccarello’s two kids.

Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov is entering the final year of his current contract with the team in 2025-26, but is eligible to sign a contract extension starting July 1. He spoke on Sunday about his future with the team after their first round exit from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Las Vegas and Edmonton are separated by nearly 1,500 miles and though rivalries often are based on geography, there's nothing like the heat of the NHL playoffs to create animosity between teams. The Oilers and Golden Knights meet Tuesday night at Vegas in Game 1 of their Western Conference series,

Backs against the wall, the Golden Knights and Oilers showed exactly why they’ve been frequent fliers past the first round — and why the Minnesota Wild and Los Angeles Kings were first-round fodder once again.

The Golden Knights focused their efforts two years ago on limiting Oilers stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl