The Minnesota Wild have re-signed free agent forward Nick Bjugstad to a one-year contract worth $900,000. This contract carries him through the 2021-22 season.
Bjugy is back!
The #mnwild has signed forward Nick Bjugstad to a one-year contract. 👏
More 🗞 » https://t.co/f5ZKaRKvXR pic.twitter.com/kbstaa47jB
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) July 5, 2021
Nick Bjugstad Returns to Wild
Over his nine-year NHL career, Bjugstad has played for the Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins and the Wild. He has put up 103 goals and 121 assists for 224 career points in 483 career games. Florida originally drafted him in the first round, 19th overall of the 2010 NHL Draft.
Last season he scored six goals and 11 assists for 17 points in 44 games. He also added 17 penalty minutes for the 2020-21 campaign. His possession numbers were 48.8 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of 1.9.
It was a decent bounce-back year for the Minneapolis native as he recovered from injuries that limited him to one goal in 13 games with the Penguins in 2019-20. The former Minnesota Mr. Hockey has also represented the United States on the international level. He collected a bronze medal at the 2011 IIHF World Junior Champions and 2013 IIHF World Championships.
What This Means for the Future
Wild general manager Bill Guerin is staying busy as he’s ramping up for the start of the expansion and entry drafts. The Wild recently re-signed Joel Erikksson Ek to a long-term deal last week. Bjugstad returning to his hometown team was hinted at, but the price had to be right. He can still be a solid bottom six forward for a team looking to shore up its depth for the upcoming season. His $900,000 salary will also help Guerin have a little more money to play with.
The big thing on Minnesota’s to-do list is to nail down Calder Trophy winner Kirill Kaprizov at least for the next few years. Guerin would also like to take care of a deal for restricted free agent forward Kevin Fiala this offseason. Bjugstad’s signing will help those goals be more possible thanks to taking a hometown discount.
