ANAHEIM, CALIF. – Clayton Stoner talks like a California surfer. Laid back, drops the word, "dude," every now and then and even rented a place on Newport Beach.
"I should be able to fit in here, I guess," said Stoner, a longtime Wild defenseman who will play his former team for the first time Friday night as a member of the Anaheim Ducks. "I'll get a surfboard and make some friends on the beach [next summer]."
In a summer full of monster contracts for hard-hitting, stay-at-home defensemen, Stoner, 29, a Wild third-round pick in 2005 who played 227 games for Minnesota, signed a four-year, $13 million deal with the Ducks on July 1. That tripled his $1.1 million salary with the Wild.
The Wild hoped to replace Stoner with former Wild defenseman Willie Mitchell, but the Florida Panthers blew Minnesota's contract offer out of the water by handing Mitchell, now their captain, a two-year, $8.5 million contract.
"I kind of just felt like I needed a change from Minnesota," Stoner said. "Nothing against it. Just sometimes change is good for somebody and keeps you motivated for a new team, new teammates and a good opportunity here."
Stoner already has stitches on his left eyebrow from being checked into the glass. He has gotten into a couple scraps and is on a Stanley Cup contender that returns from a 3-1 road trip to play the Wild in its home opener.
"Minnesota's pretty beautiful this time of year," Stoner said. "This is probably my favorite season there, but coming home to 70 degrees after being on the East Coast is pretty nice, too.
"[Playing the Wild in the home opener] makes it more exciting to play the game. I love those guys so much that it probably will be more smiles at them. I'll be playing as hard as I can like I do every night, but after playing for so long with those guys, it'll be fun."
