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Wild open to giving Niederreiter more than bridge contract

Minnesota Wild v Chicago Blackhawks - Game Two

Nino Niederreiter

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Nino Niederreiter was never able to firmly establish himself with the New York Islanders, but he was given a new opportunity after the Minnesota Wild acquired him last summer and so far he’s taken advantage of it. He scored 14 goals and 36 points in 81 games last season.

He’ll try to build off of that in 2014-15, but first he has to agree to a new contract now that his entry-level deal has expired. The restricted free agent seems like a prime candidate for a two-year bridge deal, but Wild GM Chuck Fletcher is open to signing him for longer if that’s what Niederreiter wants. Fletcher cautioned though that a longer deal would be more difficult to iron out.

“But we’re open to any scenario, and we’ve expressed that,” Fletcher added, per the StarTribune. “We’ll see how it goes, but as long as the numbers make sense, we’re prepared to do anything within reason. Probably anything between two to four years would be the most logical. I think beyond four is incredibly hard to figure out and one year doesn’t seem to make any sense.”

Young players don’t always like bridge contracts, but they’re popular because it’s hard to accurately predict what path a young players career is going to take. If he agrees to a two-year deal, then his next deal will likely be far more representative of what his worth is. If he conversely agrees to a longer-term contract, then there’s the risk that he might end up getting significantly under or overpaid in the later years of the deal.

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