The Minnesota Wild will have their well-documented dead cap hinder them for another two seasons. Ryan Kennedy and Mike Stephens discuss the Wild's biggest storylines. Mats Zuccarello [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxMTQzOTU3OTEwOTg4MzEw/usatsi_20573185_168400847_lowres.jpg] Mats Zuccarello A key veteran player is staying in the Twin Cities. The Minnesota Wild took care of some important business prior to the start of the regular season on Friday, agreeing to terms with forward Mats Zuccarello on a two-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $4.125 million. The deal ties Zuccarello to Minnesota through the 2025-26 season and doesn't kick in until 2024-25, as Zuccarello has one year remaining on his current contract at a cap hit of $6 million. It's hard to find an argument against bringing Zuccarello back for another two years if you're the Wild. The 36-year-old has shown no signs of rust despite his age over the past few seasons, finishing with 22 goals and 45 assists for 67 points in 78 games in 2022-23 while logging over 20 minutes per night in ice time and serving just 28 minutes in penalties. Zuccarello has been a fantastic counterpart to Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov during the past few seasons, with the former acting as a terrific set-up man for the latter while the latter takes the onus for driving play off the plate of the former. Zuccarello isn't quite the defensive player he used to be given his age, but he's still able to produce offense in spades at even strength and, despite not shooting all that often, has managed to convert on his chances enough to string together back-to-back 20-goal seasons. With Zuccarello locked in for the next three years, the Wild have one less member of their top six to worry about as they look to turn the corner into legitimate Cup contenders.
