ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Wild signed Ryan Hartman, 29, to a three-year, $12 million contract extension ($4M AAV) that will keep him in Minnesota through 2026-27 and his age-33 season, the team announced on Saturday morning. The deal also carries some protection, according to The Athletic's Michael Russo, as Hartman will get a no-move clause for the final season of his current deal and the first season of his new contract with a limited no-move clause in 2025-26 and 2026-27, which are Years 2 and 3 of his extension. Hartman is on the final year of his three-year deal he signed in April 2021. Hartman's new contract begins in the 2024-25 season, and the $4 million AAV is a sizeable raise on his current contract that carries a $1.7 million cap hit. Why can the Wild finish in the top-3 in a more competitive Central? It's important to note that the salary cap is projected to rise to between $87-88 million in 2024-25, according to NHL insider Pierre Lebrun [https://twitter.com/PierreVLeBrun/status/1709671258474897876], which would be a $3.5 to $4.5 million bump from the current salary cap of $83.5 million. Hartman has found a home in Minnesota and saw his game blossom in Year 3 with the Wild. The 29-year-old recorded 20 points in 2019-20 and followed that up with 22 points in 2020-21, scoring 16 combined goals in his first two years in Minnesota. The winger-turned-center then took his game to the next level when he earned a promotion to center Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello on the top line, setting career-highs in goals (34), assists (31) and points (65) in the 2021-22 campaign. Hartman didn't have the season he wanted last year and had been limited to 59 games in what ended up being an injury-riddled season for the veteran forward. He notched 15 goals and 37 points for a .63 point-per-game rate, down from his .79 point-per-game clip in 2021-22. Hartman did score two goals and five points against the Stars in the playoffs in April and has 12 points in 22 career playoff games with the Wild. Hartman deserves a lot of credit for how he seamlessly adjusted into a top-line role after playing in a depth role. Unlike others in the past, Hartman has not only been up for the task of playing with Kaprizov and Zuccarello, but he's made the line even more dangerous with his ability to drive play, score and play a hard-nosed, chippy style. 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. The Wild have now signed their Big Three pending UFA's to multi-year contracts, keeping Zuccarello, Foligno and Hartman in Minnesota beyond this season. Forwards Brandon Duhaime and Pat Maroon, defenseman Alex Goligoski and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, as well as RFA's under team control in Connor Dewar and Calen Addison, are the six remaining players on the Wild who are on the final year of their respective deals. The Wild now have nine forwards, five defensemen and Filip Gustavsson under contract for the 2024-25 season. REQUIRED READING • Jared Spurgeon expected to miss a few weeks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild/news/report-wild-captain-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' [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild/features/his-speed-and-shot-are-elite-hunter-haight-strives-to-be-a-name-they-need-to-talk-about] • Wild extend Marcus Foligno [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild/news/wild-sign-marcus-foligno-to-a-four-year-extension] • Wild extend Mats Zuccarello [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild/news/wild-sign-mats-zuccarello-to-two-year-contract-extension] THN.com/Free [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNjEyMTE2NDA1NjkxNzY4/my-thn-ad-banner-1500x150.jpg] THN.com/Free
