After making waves with contract offers to Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, the Minnesota Wild inked a pair of less ballyhooed free agents -- former Senators center Zenon Konopka and ex-Sharks winger Torrey Mitchell.
Mitchell, 27, has spent his entire five-year career with the Sharks. After a solid 2010-11 campaign (9G-14A-23PTS, plus-10), the University of Vermont product regressed last season, scoring just 19 points with a minus-six rating while his average ice time dipped below 13 per game.
According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, Mitchell’s deal is for three years, $5.7 million with an average annual cap hit of $1.9 million.
Konopka, 31, is a unique player -- a quality fighter that racks up penalty minutes (he led the NHL in 2009-10 and 2010-11.) He’s also a skilled faceoff man that routinely finishes amongst the league’s best in winning percentage.
Konopka proved to be a vital contributor for the Senators in their opening-round playoff loss to the Rangers, scoring two points in six games while getting over 11 minutes per game -- a huge bump from the 7:51 he averaged during the regular season.
Still no word on the financial side of Konopka’s deal, but Dreger reports it’s of the two-year variety.