Minnesota Wild and Mikael Grandlund come to terms on three-year deal
After coming to terms on a new deal with Nino Niedereitter, the Minnesota Wild have now done the same with another important young piece of their organization, Mikael Granlund.
Mikael Granlund and the Minnesota Wild have come to terms on a three-year deal worth $17.25 million in total. This deal will see an average cap hit of $5.75 million and is a back loaded deal. Granlund will make $5.25 million next season, $5.5 million in 2017-18 and $6.5 million in the final year of the deal in 2018-19.
Granlund, 25, has proven to be a pivotal piece of the puzzle for Minnesota. The Finnish-born forward had a career year in his first season under head coach Bruce Boudreau. Granlund had 69 points in 2016-17 in the form of 26 goals and 43 assists.
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Granlund had one of the best seasons by an individual in Minnesota Wild history last year. He finished tied for fourth most points in a single season (69). Granlund also led the Wild last season in assists (43) and multi-point games (16). Granlund also finished second on the team in goals (26).
Along with that he proved to be a vital cog in the special teams, finishing tied for first on the team with 20 power play points. His seven power play goals last season were second only to that of Nino Niedereitter (8).
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Minnesota Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher was happy to ink Granlund.
"“Mikael has been an important part of our club for the last five years, and he showed a great amount of growth with an impressive performance last season,” said Fletcher. “People across the League are now surely aware of what our management group has always known: Mikael has a tremendous level of talent and skill. Coupled with his excellent work ethic and tremendous character, we know he’ll play a large role in the future success of our team, and we’re thrilled to have him under contract moving forward.”"
This deal leave the Minnesota Wild with just under $4.8 million left in cap space with only one restricted free agent left to sign, Marcus Foligno.