Wild Signs Joel Eriksson Ek To Eight-Year, $42 Million Contract

 

Wild Signs Joel Eriksson Ek To Eight-Year, $42 Million Contract

The Wild signed center Joel Eriksson Ek to an eight-year, $42 million contract on Friday, the first of three re-signings the crew prioritized this offseason.


Kirill Kaprizov and Kevin Fiala are the other offensive leaders up for new deals.


Eriksson Ek's contract carries an average annual value of $5.25 million and runs via 2028-29, making him the longest-signed player on the Wild. A 10-team, no-trade list kicks in for the second half of the contract, a source confirmed, and the deal dwarfs the $2.975 million Eriksson Ek earned over the previous two seasons.


His overall performance on the ice the previous year explains the raise.


A defense-first ahead early in his NHL tenure after getting drafted 20th overall in 2015 by the Wild, Eriksson Ek became a constant catalyst in the offensive zone after an offseason makeover positioned him at the top of the team's depth chart up the middle.


Gone were former captain Mikko Koivu and veteran Eric Staal, creating more minutes and responsibility for Eriksson Ek, and the 24-year-old capitalized on the opportunity.


He recorded a career-high 19 goals that ranked third on the crew behind Kaprizov (27) and Fiala (20), after not scoring greater than eight in any of his previous 4 NHL seasons. His 30 points were additionally the most in his Wild career; same with his plus-minus (plus-16) and common ice time (17 minutes, three seconds). Eriksson Ek additionally led the Wild in faceoff wins (395), was 2nd in hits with one hundred and five and third in shots (119) earlier than tying for the most goals in the playoffs against Vegas with two.


While rising as more of a scorer, Eriksson Ek remained consistent defensively and thrived in a two-way position -– so much so that he completed fourth in voting for the Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward. Eriksson Ek mostly anchored a line with wingers Jordan Greenway and Marcus Foligno, a trio that faced the stiffest competition and yet was one of the Wild's cleanest defensively whilst additionally regularly producing offense.

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