A vital piece of the Minnesota Wild defense was locked up Monday afternoon.
#mnwild has re-signed Jared Spurgeon to a four-year, $20.75 million deal, the team announced. Big payday for a critical D
— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) December 21, 2015
Jared Spurgeon Re-Signs in Minnesota
Spurgeon, 26, made his NHL debut in 2010-11 and contributed four goals and 12 points in 53 games. Since then, he has been a stalwart on the Wild defense, logging 22:15 per night playing top line minutes with Ryan Suter.
This season, Spurgeon will make a $2.6 million cap hit, so the raise to $5.2 million per season really makes a statement as he will be the fifth-highest paid player on the team and the second among defensemen to his pairing-mate. Leading the team in 5v5 shot% in tie game situations (54.76%). He and Suter form a formidable pair in terms of SAT ratio, combining for a +105 mark. He also leads the team in blocked shots at 65, good for 21st among the league leaders.
Spurgeon himself has posted four goals and 16 points in 31 games, poised to pass last year’s totals of nine markers and 25 points.
For more, here is the official press release from the Wild:
The Minnesota Wild has signed defenseman Jared Spurgeon to a four-year, $20.75 million contract extension starting with the 2016-17 season.
Spurgeon, 26 (11/29/89), owns 16 points (4-12=16), four penalty minutes (PIM) and a plus-4 rating in 31 games this season. He leads the team in blocked shots (65), ranks second in TOI/game (22:15) and his point total ranks second amongst Wild defensemen and tied for seventh overall on the team.
Spurgeon collected 25 points (9-16=25) in 66 games with Minnesota last season and established career highs in goals, shots (128) and blocked shots (124) and ranked second amongst team defensemen in scoring and third in blocked shots and TOI/game (22:37). The 5-foot-9, 176-pound native of Edmonton, Alta., has collected 117 points (30-87=117) and a plus-18 rating in 326 career NHL games during six seasons with Minnesota (2010-15). He has been whistled for the fewest PIM (38) amongst NHL defensemen that have played at least 300 games in the NHL since 2010-11.
Spurgeon ranks third amongst defensemen in franchise history in goals, game-winning goals (eight), power-play goals (15) and blocked shots (491), fourth in games played, fifth in shots (459), plus/minus rating and hits (264), tied for fifth in power-play points (43) and sixth in scoring. His 10 points (4-6=10) and 28 playoff contests ranks tied for first amongst team defensemen in franchise history. He was originally signed by Minnesota as a free agent on Sept. 23, 2010. Spurgeon was drafted by the New York Islanders in the sixth round (No. 156 overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
Main Photo:
Stats courtesy of hockeydb and ESPN
Press Release courtesy of MinnesotaWild.com
Cap numbers courtesy of CapFriendly
