Video (01:16) : The inaugural Mike Yeo Classic is a six-boat fishing tournament which will raise money for the Miracles of Mitch Foundation and Angel Foundation.
Nino Niederreiter's agent said he's "very positive" his client will sign a new contract with the Wild by the time players report for training camp next week.
The agent, Andre Rufener, said Niederreiter is such a "Wild at heart," the 22-year-old winger rejected a lucrative offer from a "very good" Kontinental Hockey League team in Russia.
"We are close [to a contract with the Wild], and I really hope and I truly believe that we can get it done," Rufener said. "It's in our best interest to get it done before camp [Sept. 18], so that's what we're trying to do."
Rufener and the Wild have exchanged a plethora of ideas on contracts ranging from two to six years, the agent said, with General Manager Chuck Fletcher coming up with another "new, interesting idea" on a long-term contract Monday.
"We have to take a look into this," Rufener said. "It's interesting and it's a possibility. There's still several options. We're working on it and Chuck tells me, too, that it's in our best interest to get this done in the next week, by next Wednesday."
Niederreiter, scheduled to return to Minnesota on Wednesday, scored 14 goals last season after coming to the Wild from the Islanders in the Cal Clutterbuck trade in June 2013. In Game 7 of last season's first-round series against Colorado, Niederreiter scored two goals and one assist, including setting up Jared Spurgeon's tying goal and scoring the overtime winner.
Fletcher, who declined to comment, has previously said it is important to get the Niederreiter deal correct with so many contracts to young players expiring next summer (most notably Mikael Granlund, Charlie Coyle, Jonas Brodin, Erik Haula and Marco Scandella).
Rufener said he has had an "unbelievable offer" from a KHL team in his fingertips for two months and Niederreiter will be "leaving over a million and a quarter bucks net after taxes on the table playing in Minnesota and not Russia. That's a lot of money. This guy is a Wild at heart. A Wild at heart."
