The Minnesota Wild are close to signing veteran goalie Niklas Backstrom to a contract extension, according to the StarTribune’s Michael Russo.
Update: it’s a done deal, according to the Wild. Three years. No exact financials yet, but Russo reports it’s for less than $4 million per season.
Update 2: Russo reports the cap hit is $3.42 million.
Backstrom, who’s spent his entire seven-season NHL career with the Wild, went 24-15-3 in 2013 with a .909 save percentage; however, the 35-year-old missed the playoffs with a sports hernia that required surgery and it was speculated the club may bid adieu to the pending unrestricted free agent.
Minnesota was one of the bidders for Jonathan Bernier, and when Bernier went to Toronto, it was reported the Wild were in touch with Pittsburgh about Marc-Andre Fleury.
Backstrom is coming off a four-year, $24 million deal. It’s almost certain his cap hit will fall from that $6 million level.
According to Russo, Backstrom was looking for at least a three-year commitment.
Fletcher on Backstrom: "A model of consistency throughout his career;" he wanted to be here and gave cap # that is "very workable" #mnwild
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) June 24, 2013