By Sarah McLellan

Copyright startribune

Kirill Kaprizov looked like he always does, flicking shots into the net and using his body to shield the puck from pressure as he skated around the offensive zone.

“Out there on the ice, he’s still the same guy,” goaltender Filip Gustavsson said. “He’s doing extra. He’s passing around, fooling around with guys, and just being him.”

But the star winger’s first practice at training camp on Thursday at Tria Rink in St. Paul had a different vibe from his other arrivals for a new season. Kaprizov is in the last year of his contract and hasn’t signed an extension, unfinished business that made the uncertainty about Kaprizov’s future — and the Wild’s — impossible to ignore as the team reunited.

“It’s my job [to] just focus on hockey and the camp right now,” Kaprizov said, addressing the situation for the first time publicly. “I just want to be practicing. We have a lot of time. Just want to practice and get ready for the season and focus on this right now.”

Although negotiations are ongoing, neither side divulged much about how they’re going, with Bill Guerin, president of hockey operations, calling the talks “private” but explaining that “things are fine.

“The most important thing is that we want to sign Kirill,” Guerin continued. “He’s our franchise player. We want to keep him here. He’s a big part of our team. We’re working towards that. We’re doing the best we can. Hopefully we’ll get there sooner than later.”

Kaprizov said his agent, Paul Theofanous, who took in Thursday’s practice and chatted with management, has been talking with Guerin, and “it’s not my job right now.”

Asked about the report that he turned down an eight-year, $128 million offer that would have been the richest contract in NHL history, Kaprizov said he tries not to watch the news.