Wild sign Ryan Hartman to 3-year contract extension

The Minnesota Wild locked up one of their key players on Saturday, signing forward Ryan Hartman to a three-year contract extension worth $12 million ($4 million AAV). The new deal runs through the 2026-27 campaign.

Hartman is coming off a season in which he scored 15 goals with 22 assists in 59 games. He registered a plus-7 rating and tied for the team lead with six game-winning goals.

The 29-year-old's best season came in 2021-22, when he suited up in all 82 games and logged a career-high 34 goals with 31 assists.

The right-winger was scheduled to reach unrestricted free agency at the conclusion of the upcoming season. He signed a three-year, $5.1-million contract ahead of the 2021-22 campaign.

Hartman was a first-round draft pick (30th overall) of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013. In addition to the Blackhawks and Wild, Hartman has had stints with the Nashville Predators and Philadelphia Flyers.

The South Carolina native has collected 107 goals, 126 assists, a plus-55 rating, 505 penalty minutes, 590 hits and 295 blocked shots in 506 games over his nine-year career.

Minnesota enters 2023-24 looking to build off a season in which it finished third in the Central Division with 103 points. The Wild fell to the Dallas Stars in the first round of the playoffs and have not reached the second round since 2014-15.