FILE - Minnesota Wild right wing Mats Zuccarello (36) plays in the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Arizona Coyotes, Sunday, March 12, 2023, in Tempe, Ariz. The Wild signed Zuccarello to a two-year, $8.25 million contract extension on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, solidifying their top line beyond this season.(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)
FILE - Minnesota Wild right wing Mats Zuccarello (36) plays in the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Arizona Coyotes, Sunday, March 12, 2023, in Tempe, Ariz. The Wild signed Zuccarello to a two-year, $8.25 million contract extension on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, solidifying their top line beyond this season.(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Wild signed right wing Mats Zuccarello to a two-year, $8.25 million contract extension on Friday, solidifying their top line beyond this season.
Zuccarello, 36, has three 20-goal seasons in 13 years in , two of them with the Wild over the last two seasons. He had 22 goals and a team-leading 45 assists in 2022-23 while averaging a career-high 20:12 of average ice time per game.
The Norway native is a close friend and linemate of star Kirill Kaprizov and is entering his fifth year with the Wild. The extension, which will count $4.125 million against the salary cap in each of the next two seasons, puts five of the Wild's top six forwards under contract through at least 2024-25. Ryan Hartman, the usual center between Kaprizov and Zuccarello, is due to become a free agent next summer.
Zuccarello, who began his career with the New York Rangers, signed a five-year, $30 million deal with Minnesota on July 1, 2019.
