Rather than ending at the deadline, the flurry of trades and signings essentially only began once the NHL Expansion Draft roster freeze began. Several hours later, it seems the final move has finally been reported. Amongst the chaos of several major trades a few key signings, the Minnesota Wild took care of some housekeeping with a new deal for depth forward Joseph Cramarossa. CapFriendly reports that Cramarossa has signed a two-year, two-way extension. The contract carries the minimum $750K NHL salary and AHL salary that escalates from $170K to $182.5K in year two.
Cramarossa, 28, is not the flashiest of forwards, with modest offensive totals even in the AHL. However, he continues to land two-way NHL contracts due to his solid defensive play at the forward position. A hard-working, versatile forward, Cramarossa is a nice depth piece that can be plugged in anywhere in the bottom-six.
Minnesota did just that this season, employing Cramarossa in a bottom-six role for four games. He also spent considerable time in a next-man-up role on the practice squad, only playing in eight games for AHL Iowa. Moving forward, Cramarossa will likely be based out of Iowa but has shown he can play at the top level if needed. Minnesota has a deep forward corps and is looking to add this summer, but should they need him Cramarossa played 59 games with the Anaheim Ducks and Vancouver Canucks in 2016-17, recording ten points and 60 PIM, so he is capable of playing a regular role if necessary.