Salary Cap Projections Update For Next Season Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk1MjA1NjIzOTIxNTE4MzA2/usatsi_19626042.jpg] One of the Wild's top young forwards will be staying in Minnesota for years to come. The Minnesota Wild started their week with a bang on Monday morning, agreeing to terms with promising youngster Matt Boldy on a seven-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $7 million. The deal, which ties Boldy to Minnesota through the 2030-31 season, comes a few months before Boldy's first foray into restricted free agency and keeps the 21-year-old under contract through his age-28 campaign. It's easy to see why the Wild would act so fast to lock Boldy up. The former 12th overall selection in the 2019 NHL draft has done nothing but produce since graduating to the NHL full-time last season. He finished his rookie campaign in 2021-22 with an impressive 15 goals and 39 points in 47 games before following it up this year with 12 goals and 29 points in 42 games as a sophomore so far. Boldy's role within the Wild's forward corps has increased as he's continued to acclimate to the NHL level, as well. After averaging a respectable 15:23 in nightly ice time last season, Boldy's workload has risen to 17:47 in 2022-23, showing Boldy to have earned a full-time spot in the Wild's vaunted top six. With Zach Parise and Ryan Suter's buyouts set to account for a $14,743,588 dead cap hit next season, the Wild certainly have some decisions to make regarding their financials following the Boldy extension. Dollars and cents aside, though, keeping a productive homegrown talent in the organization for the next seven years at a price that could, as the cap rises, look like a bargain in the near future is a win in anyone's books.
