Jake Middleton
signed a four-year, $17.4 million contract with the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday. The contract, which has a $4.35 million average annual value, begins in the 2025-26 season.
The 28-year-old defenseman had 25 points (seven goals, 18 assists) in 80 games last season while averaging 19:49 of ice time. He led Minnesota with 161 blocked shots and ranked third with 148 hits.
“We really are excited to get to spend another five years here, my wife and I,” Middleton said Wednesday. “We love the team, we love everything about Minnesota. Just couldn’t be happier to get this done.”
Middleton could have become an unrestricted free agent after the season but said he was excited about the future in Minnesota.
“That’s kind of why you want to extend, right? You believe in the organization, you believe what they’ve got going on,” he said. “And you really want to see it through and signing extensions like this allow you to try and see it through. I’m really happy with where it’s at. Obviously it [stinks] missing the playoffs, but no excuses. We did have a ton of injuries. But I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, I think there’s good things in the future for this franchise. And I’m happy I get to be a part of it and try and see it through.
“There’s so much to be excited about. I think you saw last year with the prospects that came in with [Liam] Ohgren and [Marat] Khusnutdinov and those guys, they’re obviously going to be NHL players. That’s exciting. The core group of guys we have, the toughness we have to fight through things, there’s a lot I’m looking forward to seeing through here.”
Selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the seventh round (No. 210) of the 2014 NHL Draft, Middleton has 57 points (14 goals, 43 assists) in 239 regular-season games with the Wild and San Jose Sharks and three assists in 12 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
