Boldy says signing long-term was ‘easy decision’

Matt Boldy is going to be a part of the Minnesota Wild for a very long time after signing a seven-year, $49-million contract on Monday morning and he could not be more happy to commit his future to this team.

“I love it here,” Boldy said in his first media availability since the contract was made public. “From the moment I got here — just the guys we have, the guys in the locker room, management, coaching, everything — it’s a good place to be. Ever since I’ve got here I have loved it, so it was a pretty easy decision for me.”

The 21-year-old seems to be enjoying his game as well. In the 89 career games before signing this extension, Boldy scored 27 goals and 68 points; not the most outrageous totals but he has been someone that has supplemented the Wild on both ends of the ice and will certainly lead this next wave of talent coming in.

And that is what is key, because this is not just a contract to keep an existing player for a little bit longer, but it is a commitment to someone that Wild management view as an integral part for this team to have consistent success down the road.

“Matt is a kid we really believe in,” GM Bill Guerin said Monday. “It’s early in his career but we just feel that Matt is going to be one of the cornerstones of the organization.”

To receive this amount of praise and public appreciation, especially being considered as one of the “cornerstones” for the Wild, only makes Boldy want to be that player even more.

“It’s exciting, it’s what you want to be. You want to be a player that makes a difference,” Boldy said. “You want to play for as long as you can and make a good impact. That’s what I want to do. I don’t want to just go out there and just be happy with being in the league, I want to go out there and play well and score goals and help the team.”

With Boldy at the center of it all, it is almost painfully obvious what the Wild are planning and how well they are executing it.

With the arrival of Kirill Kaprizov and him signed to a contract through the 2025-26 season, the Wild have set a somewhat strong window to really figure out what they have in the young prospect pool. They committed to drafting well with the hiring of Director of Amateur Scouting, Judd Brackett, and will soon be reaping that benefit when they want to supplement their existing core of talent — headlined by Kaprizov and Boldy upfront and the omnipresent Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin at the back — with all the prospects that are developing under their watch.

Now that the cornerstone is signed to a deal, they just need to figure out the other young players that still need contracts. A whole lot of work is still needed to be done.