It was announced Wednesday afternoon that the Minnesota Wild have agreed to terms of a contract extension with 23-year-old center Mikael Granlund.
Minnesota Wild have re-signed Mikael Granlund to a 2-year contract. #NHLFreeAgency
— TSN Radio Vancouver (@TSN1040) July 1, 2015
Granlund will be making a total of $6 million over the course of his two-year extension, making $2.8 million in his first year and $3.2 million in his second year.
Granlund, who was drafted by the Wild 9th overall in 2010, has been a very important member of the organization. Despite the fact that he has yet to put up more than 8 goals in a season, Granlund has still managed to tally 88 points in 158 games – making him an important depth-forward for the Wild to keep around.
Granlund is projected to be a relatively good player in the NHL, however considering the extension is only for two years, it’s obvious that the Wild are going to track his progress through the next two seasons before locking him up long-term. This is a smart move by the Wild because, although Granlund has shown good offensive ability, it’s important that he doesn’t develop into an 8-goal scorer per-year player. These next two years are going to be years where Granlund begins to be shaped into the player the Wild are looking for – assisting him with his goal-scoring abilities as well as the defensive aspect of his game.
