Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin is heading into one of the busiest summers in recent memory for an NHL front office. It’s not often that your top three forward talents new need contracts, all while a new expansion team is coming into the league and they are going to snatch up one of your players
The intense planning has been slightly lightened after signing center Joel Eriksson Ek to an 8-year, $42-million deal on Friday. It was certainly the easiest contract of the three restricted free agents — offensive dynamos Kevin Fiala and Kirill Kaprizov being the others — but was still an important chore to cross off the offseason to-do list.