The Minnesota Wild are ready to make a splash or two on the unrestricted free agent market, but they have also come to terms on a new deal with one of their restricted free agents. Defenseman Nick Seeler has signed a three-year, $2.175MM extension, the team reports. The Athletic’s Michael Russo adds that the salary increases after year one from $675K to $750K for an AAV of $725K.
Seeler’s numbers of four assists in 22 games may not be that impressive, but the 25-year-old made a name for himself in the second half of the season among Wild players. At 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, he adds a much-needed physical presence to the team and received countless praise for his blocking shots, battling in the corners and even throwing a few punches.
The fifth-round pick in 2014, Seeler went to the University of Nebraska-Omaha for two years before transferring for one year to the University of Minnesota. He then played two years with the AHL’s Iowa Wild before finally getting what looks to be a permanent callup late in the season as he was averaging more than 20 minutes per game over the last few games of the season.
Make a splash??? Seeler, Fehr, Hendricks….how exciting. Is there no way they can eat some of Parise’s contract and get someone younger that produces? Parise is a great guy and a hard worker but he’s the Wilds Joe Mauer. Local guy…hurt a lot…best years behind him but still making wayyyy too much money for the production. If the Wild think they can go to war with him as a top player…and Koivu too…might as well start looking at the ‘19-‘20 season and hope they can draft a big time scorer. Let’s hope Fenton can change the personality of this team.