ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Wild are reportedly close to signing Ryan Hartman to a three-year contract extension north of his current $1.7 million cap hit, according to a report from NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, who later reported the deal will carry an AAV of around $4 million.
Hartman is on the final season of the three-year bargain contract that he signed in April 2021, and this three-year extension would keep him in Minnesota through 2026-27 and his age-33 season. He has taken his game to the next level ever since centering Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello on the Wild's top line.
Earlier this week, NHL insider Pierre Lebrun reported that the salary cap is projected to rise to between $87-88 million in 2024-25, which would be a $3.5 to $4.5 million bump from the current salary cap of $83.5 million. The importance of that for the cap-strapped Wild due to the buyouts can't be overstated.
Hartman has 65 goals and 144 points over his first four seasons with the Wild and is looking to replicate what he did in 2021-22 this season after dealing with injuries last year. The Wild signed both Mats Zuccarello and Marcus Foligno to multi-year extensions last week.
Other Wild news...
• Former Wild defenseman joins Sportsnet Pittsburgh
• Jared Spurgeon expected to miss a few weeks
• 'His speed and shot are elite': Hunter Haight strives to be 'a name they need to talk about'
