Wild signs Brodin to six-year deal

Looking to get ahead of next summer's large restricted free-agent crop, the Wild has signed the first of its talented youngsters with an expiring contract to a lucrative extension.

Just before departing Denver after the Wild's 3-0 victory Saturday night, smooth-skating defenseman Jonas Brodin, who broke into the NHL as a 19-year-old, signed a six-year, $25 million contract that will carry him through the 2020-21 season.

"Clearly he's a very important player on our team right now, and we figure his importance certainly isn't going to decrease over the years," General Manager Chuck Fletcher said, laughing. "If anything he's going to continue to evolve and get better. He's hopefully going to be one of our cornerstone players here for the next decade.

"He just turned 21. That's the scary thing. You think about the role he has on our team and the things he has already accomplished, and he's just turned 21."

As a teenager two years ago, the 2011 10th overall draft pick almost immediately became veteran Ryan Suter's defense partner. A left-shot defenseman, Brodin impressively slid into his off side seamlessly and led all rookies in ice time by more than 1 ½ minutes per game.

He was named to the 2013 All-Rookie team, then scored eight goals and 11 assists last year while his smart, poised defensive game continues to evolve offensively. In two games to start this season, he has an assist, five shots and is plus-5. In 126 NHL games, he has 10 goals, 21 assists and is plus-8.

"I'm really excited," Brodin said. "I really like the organization, my teammates, the whole staff. I believe we can win. I'm really happy right now. I'm really confident my game will continue to develop."

"He's a real big part of our present and our future," Fletcher said. "It came together quickly because there wasn't a lot of difference of opinion as to how he fits now and where we see him going."

Fletcher has also begun contract talks with forwards Mikael Granlund and Charlie Coyle, who are in the final year of the entry-level contracts. Defensemen Marco Scandella and Christian Folin and center Erik Haula are also in the last year of their deals. Fletcher is looking to stagger the terms of each deal so their next contracts don't all expire at the same time.

"We've reached out to a lot of these guys," Fletcher said. "In some cases, like specifically Brodin, there was a desire to talk now and try to pursue something and in other cases people want to see how things play out in the early part of the year.

"We've got to respect that, but we wanted to get a sense where people are at and exchange ideas. I could see one or two of them even happening next summer. There's no urgency here. We want to make sure we get the right deal for the player and the team. I'm sure with that approach we'll be able to chip away and get a couple of the guys signed, but I don't expect we'll get everybody signed right away.