Minnesota Wild 15 Best Contracts (2005-2022)

This was originally published in my 2020 book Hunting Bargains in a Salary Cap World, and has now been updated with new contracts. I will continue to update each team’s list every summer going forward. The rule is that only active contracts can move up or down. Expired deals cannot pass each other. Next summer it may even be expanded to top 20. The book is still available on Amazon, though some of the stats on active contracts are now out of date. You may yet find it interesting because there were detailed stat graphics that you won't find here. One thing you won't find here are entry level contracts because they all come from the same cookie cutter and require less skill at the negotiating table.

My latest book The Hockey Economist’s Betting Prospectus is now available. It's a comprehensive commentary on the last 3 years of hockey betting, broken down by team, by category, by strategy, by season. There is plenty of useful information for bettors of all skill levels. It covers pre-pandemic, peak-pandemic, post-pandemic. What worked, what failed. Lessons learned, market trends, team-by-team analysis. What impact did the pandemic have on hockey betting? The market differences between these 3 seasons are discussed at length, and there's a lot to talk about. To read more, visit the Amazon store.

If you’d like to browse my other best/worst contract lists, click here. Enjoy! 

Please note: The formatting on the graphics got scrambled being copied from Excel into Google Blogger. It's among the reasons my blog is looking for a new home.

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The Wild started the salary cap era by missing the playoffs 5 times in the first 7 years until they signed Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to those monster jackpots, then began a streak of 6 consecutive post-season appearances. Chuck Flether ran the organization from 2009 to 2018, but was fired after another 1st round exit.
 
For more information on why Chuck Fletcher was fired, you’ll have to wait and read the Wild worst contracts list. His successor Paul Fenton did not last long in the job as the subject of public ridicule (more so for bad trades than bad contracts), paving the way for Bill Guerin to get his first GM job in the NHL.
 
 
1. Kirill Kaprizov
 

Signed By:	Bill Guerin		Position:	F
Date:	2021-09-21		Age July 1st:	24
Term:	5 years		Playoff GP:	6
Total Money:	$45.6M		Playoff PTS:	8
Cap Hit:	$9.1M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	45.6	81	108	289
Per 82 GP	9.1	82	109	293	19.1

“You have to stay patient. It's not just us that's involved in this. It's a player and his feelings and what he feels, so we all process it kind of differently”

– Bill Guerin

Kirill Kaprizov had an abnormal amount of leverage following his 1-year entry level contract, given the nuclear option of returning to play in Russia. He scored 51 PTS in 55 GP as a rookie, and this is a large sum of money to give any player with only 55 GP of NHL experience. There are zero deals in my contract DB (with 7000+ entries) with a higher cap hit and under 100 games of experience. $9.1M almost doubled second place.
 
In that respect, there was some risk associated with this price tag, but few doubted that Kaprizov was the real deal. In year one, he soared to 108 PTS and removed all doubt in his prowess. When I first saw the price, I thought it was a bit high, but that the team had no choice. In less than a calendar year, my opinion changed to $9.1M is a steal.
 
 
2. Mikko Koivu
 

Signed By:	Doug Risebrough		Position:	F
Date:	2007-06-30		Age July 1st:	24
Term:	4 years		Playoff GP:	6
Total Money:	$13M		Playoff PTS:	5
Cap Hit:	$3.25M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	19.3	287	242	817
Per 82 GP	4.8	82	69	233	20.7

“He’s out there on the power play, the penalty kill, when the game is on the line. He always seems to step up in key situations and that’s what you want in a captain.”

– James Sheppard

Mikko Koivu earned himself a very fair wage after scoring 20 goals and 54 PTS at age 23 that still would have been a worthy investment had he stayed at this level of production. But instead, he got even better and out-performed his pay grade. Of the 15 seasons that Koivu has played in his career, his 3 highest point totals were under this contract.
 
The Finn was named team captain before year three. In 287 GP he scored 242 PTS (69-point pace) and developed into a perennial contender for the Selke trophy (albeit in an era where Toews, Datsyuk, Bergeron, Kopitar, and Kesler stole most of the Selke spotlight). This term would have taken him to unrestricted free agency had the Wild not inked him to a long-term extension a year before this expired (and you won’t find that contract on this list).
 
 
3. Eric Staal
 

Signed By:	Chuck Fletcher		Position:	F
Date:	2016-07-01		Age July 1st:	31
Term:	3 years		Playoff GP:	10
Total Money:	$10.5M		Playoff PTS:	3
Cap Hit:	$3.5M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	11.4	245	193	667
Per 82 GP	3.8	82	65	223	18.2

“At this point in my career with what's gone on in the last two years, it wasn't about the money and chasing the big next deal"

– Eric Staal

When Eric Staal reached the UFA market for the first time at age 31, the center had just completed his worst full season in the NHL, scoring a disappointing 39 PTS in 83 GP (by far his worst total since his rookie year as a teenager). His days of being a 100-point player and Stanley Cup winner were ancient history, but there surely had to be at least one team offering more money than this.
 
Staal had already banked $73M over his career, so hammering a big pay day was not his primary concern. The Wild took a risk on a declining asset and were tremendously rewarded, as Eric resurrected his offensive prowess in Minnesota, including 42 goals and 76 PTS in year two (his highest total since 2011 when he was 25).
 
 
4. Brent Burns
 

Signed By:	Doug Risebrough		Position:	D
Date:	2006-07-08		Age July 1st:	21
Term:	2 years		Playoff GP:	11
Total Money:	$1.65M		Playoff PTS:	3
Cap Hit:	$825K		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	2.9	159	68	266
Per 82 GP	1.5	82	35	137	19.5

“Long-term contracts are about projection now. Not about what they’ll make, but their ability to earn it and make things happen during the length of the contract.”

– Doug Risebrough

The Minnesota Wild drafted Brent Burns in 2003 and immediately rushed him to the NHL as an 18-year-old before the 2005 work stoppage. When it came time for his 2nd contract, the youngster had been bouncing back and forth between forward and defense, not yet establishing himself as a goal generator at the top level. He was still a highly regarded commodity, but needed to prove his worth before securing a long-term deal.
 
Year one showed modest improvement, but the real breakout came in 2008 at age 22 when he scored 15 goals, 43 PTS, averaging 23.1 minutes of ice time, earning himself a substantial pay raise on his next ticket.
 
 
5. Matt Dumba
 

Signed By:	Chuck Fletcher		Position:	D
Date:	2016-07-28		Age July 1st:	21
Term:	2 years		Playoff GP:	10
Total Money:	$5.1M		Playoff PTS:	2
Cap Hit:	$2.55M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	5.7	158	84	307
Per 82 GP	2.8	82	44	159	22.1

"I just want to grow as a player. Getting that opportunity to do so and prove myself over the next couple of years I think is huge. I think I'll be right at my peak at the end of that and hopefully then I can sign something long term."

– Matt Dumba

Matt Dumba proved his ability to manufacture goals over the course of his ELC, but was still only seeing limited ice time. Lacking arbitration rights and the type of deployment needed to command the type of money that Morgan Rielly banked a few months earlier, Dumba settled on this modest bridge deal closely resembling what Ryan Murray had recently been paid. Cody Ceci signed an almost identical pact 3 weeks later.
 
Similar to Brent Burns a decade earlier, Dumba posted modest gains in the first year, then the flood-gates opened in year two, scoring 14 goals and 50 PTS. In 158 GP Dumba scored 84 PTS. His next contract would get significantly larger, but this bridge deal was a nice bargain.
 
 
6. Niklas Backstrom
 

Signed By:	Doug Risebrough		Position:	G
Date:	2007-06-07		Age July 1st:	29
Term:	2 years		Playoff Wins:	2
Total Money:	$6.2M		Playoff SV%:	0.900
Cap Hit:	$3.1M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Avg Adj Cap Hit	GP	W	GAA	SV%
Total	4.8	129	70	2.32	0.921

“We know he’s a great goalie. We knew that last year. We know how good he is. That’s nothing new.”

– Brent Burns

Niklas Backstrom (the goaltending version) made his NHL debut at age 28 as a European free agent on a 1-year ELC and was immediately successful, posting 23 wins, 8 losses, and a .929 SV% as a rookie while splitting starting duties with Manny Fernandez. The Wild rewarded the Finn with a generous salary, but only 2 years term (for less money than Martin Biron had recently earned for a far less impressive performance).
 
That summer Risebrough traded Fernandez to Boston, clearing room for Backstrom to assume the primary starters role, and he did not disappoint. Niklas without a “c” played 129 games, winning 70, losing 37, posting a .921 SV% and 46 goals saved above average.
 
 
7. Jared Spurgeon
 

Signed By:	Chuck Fletcher		Position:	D
Date:	2015-12-21		Age July 1st:	26
Term:	4 years		Playoff GP:	10
Total Money:	$20.8M		Playoff PTS:	2
Cap Hit:	$5.2M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	22.2	281	150	518
Per 82 GP	5.6	82	44	151	23.9

“Every dollar counts, Things can still change, so I think we have to be a bit cautious and maybe give ourselves a little wiggle room”

– Chuck Fletcher

Jared Spurgeon had proven himself as a consistent reliable contributor while playing primarily as Ryan Suter’s blueline partner before landing this extension. This was structured very similarly to the deal Minnesota awarded to Marco Scandella 1 year earlier, but for a higher salary.
 
Spurgeon rose to a higher level of production right out of the gate, building into a 14 goal, 43-point campaign in 2019. He did take a risk accepting a term that would not expire until after his 30th birthday, potentially bypassing his prime UFA window. Luckily for him, the Wild gifted him a massive pay day on his next contract, that you can read about on the Wild worst contracts list.
 
 
8. Kevin Fiala
 

Signed By:	Bill Guerin		Position:	F
Date:	2019-09-11		Age July 1st:	22
Term:	2 years		Playoff GP:	7
Total Money:	$6M		Playoff PTS:	2
Cap Hit:	$3M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	6.1	114	94	337
Per 82 GP	3.0	82	68	242	16.1

"I know what the skill set of Kevin Fiala is. It has nothing to do with me knowing Nashville. It has to do with the player himself, with the upside he has. He scored 23 goals ... two seasons ago until he broke his leg, he was our best player in the playoffs."

– Paul Fenton

Paul Fenton was skewered and ridiculed on social media when he traded Mikael Granlund to acquire Kevin Fiala in 2019 and was fired before he could get his prized acquisition’s autograph on a new deal. Fenton had already been under fire for previous transactions, and this move added fuel to the fire.
 
Evidently the hockey world incorrectly rushed to judgement on this particular trade, as Fiala had a breakout season in Minnesota after his GM was fired. There was sound logic behind the move, as Granlund was a year away from going UFA whereas Fiala had several more years of team control.
 
Despite the criticism hurled at Fenton, he would eventually be vindicated. Granlund’s production plunged in Nashville (scoring just 37 PTS in his first 85 GP for the Preds), while Fiala scored 54 PTS in 64 GP in year one of this deal, for a cheaper price. Well done.
 
 
9. Jared Spurgeon
 

Signed By:	Chuck Fletcher		Position:	D
Date:	2013-07-05		Age July 1st:	23
Term:	3 years		Playoff GP:	29
Total Money:	$8M		Playoff PTS:	15
Cap Hit:	$2.7M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	9.7	210	80	341
Per 82 GP	3.2	82	31	133	22.6

"The knock on Jared is he's small. Unfortunately for him, he'll always be small. But he's a heck of a hockey player. He played 21-and-a-half minutes a game last year, was on pace for a 30-point season”

– Chuck Fletcher

Jared Spurgeon was not a valuable commodity as a prospect. Drafted in the 6^th round by the Islanders in 2008, New York declined to offer him an entry level contract at the end of his junior career. The 5’9 defenseman lacks the speed you typically want to see from smaller players, but still found a home with the Minnesota Wild.
 
By his 2nd pro season, Jared was playing exclusively in the NHL, scoring 23 PTS in 70 GP, averaging 21.6 minutes per game, providing stability on a struggling blueline. Spurgeon earned himself a modest 3-year deal at an average adjusted cap hit of $3.2M (Dmitry Kulikov autographed a similar document 7 months earlier in Florida).
 
That’s a good price for a defenseman who would go on to produce 80 PTS in 210 GP while averaging over 22 minutes of ice time per game. Jared’s quality of play improved even more on his next contract.
 
 
10. Brent Burns
 

Signed By:	Doug Risebrough		Position:	D
Date:	2007-10-25		Age July 1st:	23
Term:	4 years		Playoff GP:	5
Total Money:	$14.2M		Playoff PTS:	2
Cap Hit:	$3.6M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	19.8	267	130	622
Per 82 GP	5.0	82	40	191	23.2

“You have to be competitive to reach this level and I’m a pretty intense guy. And when a team doesn’t want you, you sure don’t want them to go 82-0.”

– Brent Burns

Brent Burns signed this extension in October of his breakout season and could have possibly commanded an even greater price had he waited a few months (something up in the Ryan Whitney range). Yet, it was a generous sum for what he had produced at that moment in his career and he would be an unrestricted free agent at age 27 when it expired. Injuries limited the big defenseman over the first two seasons before becoming a healthy bargain for the final two, finishing with 267 GP and 130 PTS (40 PTS per 82 GP).
 
One year before he was set to hit the UFA market, the Wild traded Burns to the San Jose Sharks for Devon Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle, and a 1st round draft pick. While that might be a decent haul for a pending UFA, Wild fans certainly don’t look back fondly on that trade. Burns did not elevate into truly elite status until he was 29 years old, but he was still plenty productive during his final season in Minnesota, scoring 46 PTS with 170 shots while averaging 25 minutes per game of ice time.
 
 
11. Joel Eriksson Ek
 

Signed By:	Bill Guerin		Position:	F
Date:	2019-08-21		Age July 1st:	22
Term:	2 years		Playoff GP:	7
Total Money:	$3M		Playoff PTS:	3
Cap Hit:	$1.5M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	3.0	118	59	221
Per 82 GP	1.5	82	41	154	16.3

"I'm just happy to get to play, and it's what you dream of as a kid.”

– Joel Eriksson Ek

Joel Eriksson Ek’s best season on his ELC was 16 PTS in 75 GP and had not produced a stat line that warranted a salary north of $1M. He was surely happy to walk away from the negotiating table with $1.5M given his lack of offensive output. Well that output doubled as his ice time increased. 

In year two he scored at a 44-point pace which had an expected free agent value of $4.5M. The Swede was producing at triple his pay grade. What you didn’t see on the scoresheet was that he involved into one of the league’s best shutdown centers, and developed a reputation for being notoriously difficult to play against.
 
 
12. Jason Zucker
 

Signed By:	Chuck Fletcher		Position:	F
Date:	2016-06-29		Age July 1st:	24
Term:	2 years		Playoff GP:	10
Total Money:	$4M		Playoff PTS:	1
Cap Hit:	$2M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	4.5	161	111	394
Per 82 GP	2.2	82	57	201	16.1

“I’ve already forgotten about last year. For me, that is well on the backburner. I’m already looking forward to this season and I’m already better this summer than I’ve ever been at this point in a summer. I’m really excited to get back to training camp and get ready to go.”

– Jason Zucker

It took some time for Jason Zucker to establish himself offensively as an NHL player, scoring only 61 PTS in his first 169 GP (30-point pace) before signing this deal at age 24. They basically borrowed the structure that the Canucks had negotiated with Sven Baertschi 2 weeks earlier. The Wild signed Matt Dumba to a very similar contract 2 weeks later.
 
Shortly after the ink had dried, that’s when the breakout started, with the young winger jumping up to 47 PTS in year one, and 64 PTS in year two after he started getting regular power play time. Zucker predominantly played with Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund over these 2 seasons, earning himself a substantial pay raise on his next deal.
 
 
13. Charlie Coyle
 

Signed By:	Chuck Fletcher		Position:	F
Date:	2014-10-21		Age July 1st:	23
Term:	5 years		Playoff GP:	50
Total Money:	$16M		Playoff PTS:	25
Cap Hit:	$3.2M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	17.4	381	206	716
Per 82 GP	3.5	82	44	154	16.8

“Charlie brings unique qualities to our team – he is an experienced, productive, two-position player with size, skill and speed. Charlie will provide the necessary depth in all areas of our game as we continue to battle for a playoff position. Charlie is a player our entire organization believes can help us now and moving forward.”

– Don Sweeney

Charlie Coyle was a highly touted prospect who came to Minnesota in the Brent Burns trade, but had yet to top 30 PTS in a season in the NHL. The young winger agreed to an early extension in October 2014, months before his ELC was set to expire (procuring $500K more in salary than teammate Nino Niederreiter 5 weeks earlier).
 
The team took somewhat of a risk signing a youngster for 5-years before establishing himself as a productive NHL performer. The risk paid off. In year one he jumped up to 42 PTS in 82 GP, and pushed the bar even higher in year two with 56 PTS in 82 GP. Sadly, it appears like that may have been his peak, as his scoring pace has declined since age 24. Paul Fenton traded Coyle to the Bruins for Ryan Donato and a 5th round draft pick. Charlie’s production dropped in Boston, but the Bruins liked him enough to offer him a big extension.
 
 
14. Mikael Granlund
 

Signed By:	Chuck Fletcher		Position:	F
Date:	2015-07-01		Age July 1st:	23
Term:	2 years		Playoff GP:	11
Total Money:	$6M		Playoff PTS:	5
Cap Hit:	$3M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	6.9	163	113	337
Per 82 GP	3.4	82	57	170	18.5

“I don’t think anybody anticipates Granlund being an eight-goal, 40-point guy for the rest of his career. He’s going to, I think, take off here over the next two years.”

– Chuck Fletcher

Mikael Granlund scored at a 46-point pace over the course of his ELC, including 39 PTS in 68 GP in the final year. The Wild seem to love these 2-year bridge deals regardless of which General Manager is running the show. The young center agreed to a slightly smaller salary that what Charlie Coyle inked 9 months earlier.
 
Granlund’s breakout occurred in year two, when he found himself playing primarily with Koivu and Zucker, scoring 69 PTS in 81 GP. The Wild would receive 113 PTS, paying 67 cents on the dollar for what Granlund produced, which also included 5 PTS in 11 playoff games. Mikael would nearly double his salary on his next deal.
 
 
15. Andrew Brunette
 

Signed By:	Doug Risebrough		Position:	F
Date:	2008-07-01		Age July 1st:	34
Term:	3 years		Playoff GP:	0
Total Money:	$7M		Playoff PTS:	0
Cap Hit:	$2.3M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	10.0	244	157	364
Per 82 GP	3.3	82	53	122	16.9

“Andrew is a consistent offensive performer and an excellent teammate who helped create the culture of our team”

- Doug Risebrough

If you’re ranking NHL players who defied the aging process and eluded the grasp of Father Time well beyond their 30^th birthday, Andrew Brunette belongs somewhere on that list. The crafty veteran posted a stunning career high 83 PTS at age 33 in 2007 (shattering his previous peak of 69 PTS). That gave Doug Risebrough the confidence the sign Andrew to a 3-year deal a month before his 35th birthday.
 
Brunnette returned to Minnesota where he played for 3 seasons prior to the 2005 lockout. The Winger would score 65 goals and 157 PTS in 244 GP on this deal (53-point pace) GP at an average adjusted cap hit of $3.3M. Ain’t nothing wrong with that!