Minnesota Wild sign winger Brandon Duhaime to one-year, $1.1 million contract

Duhaime, 26, was a restricted free agent after the conclusion of his two-year contract with a $750,000 cap hit. He was scheduled for an arbitration hearing on July 20th, so the two parties come to an agreement before having to go that route. This contract will be the first time Duhaime will make seven figures, and be his first one-way deal. He will be an unrestricted free agent when the contract ends next summer.

Duhaime had a down year in his sophomore season, setting a career-high in goals with nine but only registering one assist for 10 points in 51 games. He also played six playoff games with the Wild, where he was held without a point as the Wild were eliminated in six games by the Dallas Stars in the first round.

Duhaime was a fourth-round pick of the Wild in 2016 out of the USHL, and spent three years in college before signing his entry-level contract. After two seasons in the AHL, he graduated to the NHL in 2021 and has spent the entirety of his last two seasons on the Wild’s roster.

The Wild have had a really quiet offseason, with Duhaime’s contract being just their third signing since free agency began along with Vinni Lettieri and Jacob Lucchini. They also made a trade this summer, acquiring Patrick Maroon from the Tampa Bay Lightning. They still have just over $7 million in cap space, with Calen Addison and Filip Gustavsson remaining among the restricted free agents on their NHL roster. Gustavsson is also scheduled for an arbitration hearing, which is set to occur on August 4th if the two parties are unable to reach an agreement.

The Wild are looking to take that next step as a team in the postseason, as they’ve consistently been a solid playoff team for 10 of the last 11 seasons, but haven’t won a playoff series since 2015. They finished the 2022-23 season with a 46-25-11 record, good for third in the Central Division.