Wild Sign Frederick Gaudreau To Unexpected Deal

The depth center is going to be sticking around after all.

The Minnesota Wild and general manager Bill Guerin are getting some work done before the playoffs even start.

Announced by the team in the middle of Thursday's game against the Nashville Predators, the Wild have re-signed forward Frederick Gaudreau to a five-year, $10.5-million contract that will carry a cap hit of $2.1-million through the 2027-28 season.

Gaudreau was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, but now he's staying in St. Paul long-term.

The 29-year-old forward has been a late bloomer and after starting his NHL career with the Predators, and having a brief cameo with the Pittsburgh Penguins, he has blossomed into a depth center who is better defensively than offensively. But Gaudreau has grown offensively in this contract year, scoring a career-high 18 goals to pair with 37 total points in 82 games. Through his two years in Minnesota, he has a total of 32 goals and 81 points in 158 games played.

Why was this contract signed during the final game of the regular season and not during the actual free agency period? Well, the Wild are facing a tough challenge this summer. With two years of $14.7 million of dead cap space approaching, Guerin needs to carefully maneuver his way around the limited cap space he has available to fill out his roster.

Before this signing, the Wild were projected to have roughly $16.7 million of cap space this offseason. However, they only have seven forwards and five defensemen who regularly played for the team this year signed to a contract for next season. Now, the belt is a little bit tighter and with one more player into the fold. This summer will either be trying to fill out the roster with cheap depth, or relying on some prospects currently on their rookie deals to take the jump and supplement the existing talent in the lineup.

In the end, it makes sense. We know head coach Dean Evason has an affinity for the player -- having coached also him in the AHL -- and he has fit well within the group and mentality of what the team wants Minnesota Hockey to look like. The term is a little long, but it is such a cheap contract that it won't ruin anything.