Minnesota Scene: Loons trade for defender Eric Miller, a Woodbury native

Minnesota United acquired right back and Woodbury native Eric Miller and $50,000 of general allocation money from the Colorado Rapids in return for winger Sam Nicholson and his international roster slot late on the final day of the primary transfer window Tuesday.

"It's never easy to let really good people go," Loons coach Adrian Heath said of Nicholson. "He's been an incredible piece of what we're trying to build. He's a great guy on and off the field, incredibly popular. But we have to look at the big, overall picture. ... We've got the summer window where most of the leagues are going to be over. We've identified one or two things there."

The club has a vision of what it wants starting July 10, which could be to make another designated player-level signing. Because last season Miller made a guaranteed compensation of $86,553.75 while Nicholson's salary was considerably more at $281,456.00, according to the MLS Players Association, United now has more financial leeway.

Miller, 25, is 6-1, 175 pounds and can play either outside back position. United needs depth there with injuries to Tyrone Mears and Marc Burch, who will have possibly season-ending meniscus surgery this week. Miller has been in the league with Montreal and Colorado since 2014 but hasn't yet played a game this season. Heath said he's unsure if Miller could play Saturday when the Loons take on Vancouver at TCF Bank Stadium.

Nicholson, 23, came to United last summer in a transfer from Scottish club Hearts. He played 20 games and totaled two goals and two assists. Heath said Frantz Pangop or Alexi Gomez could slot in for Nicholson.

MEGAN RYAN

Jason Zucker is one of three finalists for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice. The winner will be named June 20 in Las Vegas.

The other finalists are P.K. Subban of Nashville and the Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel, of Vancouver.

• The Wild signed forward Dmitry Sokolov to a three-year, entry-level contract and defenseman Eric Martinsson to a one-year, two-way contract.

Sokolov tallied a career-high 96 points — including 50 goals — in 64 games in the Ontario Hockey League last season, splitting 2017-18 with Barrie and Sudbury. He was the Wild's seventh-round pick (196th overall) in 2016.

Martinsson had three goals and 17 points in 46 games for Vaxjo HC in the Swedish Elite League last season. The 6-0, 185-pound native of Klippan, Sweden, also had 11 points in 13 playoff games to help Vaxjo HC win the playoff championship.

SARAH McLELLAN

• Paula Krueger was named Northern State women's basketball coach. She was the Wolves' associate head coach the past two seasons. She replaces Curt Fredrickson who coached the team for 39 seasons before retiring with a 846-306 record.

• The Big Ten finalized wrestling foes for the 2018-19 season for the Gophers and other conference teams. Minnesota will host Rutgers, Purdue, Iowa, Maryland and Indiana and take trips to Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois and Northwestern. Dates and times will be announced later.

• Gophers junior Temi Ogunrinde was named the Big Ten's field athlete of the week. She won the hammer title at the Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational in Louisville with a toss of 220 feet.