Minnesota Wild sign Jake Middleton to four-year, $17.4 million extension

The Minnesota Wild have locked up some of their depth on defense as the team has extended left-handed blueliner Jake Middleton, signing him to a four-year contract worth $17.4 million total. The deal sees Middleton jump from a $2.45 million cap hit in 2024-25 to $4.35 million through the 2028-29 season. Darren Dreger of TSN was the first to report the extension.

Middleton, 28, was originally a seventh-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings back in 2014 and has spent the past two and a half seasons in Minnesota. The Wild acquired Middleton back in March of 2022, in a pre-deadline deal with the San Jose Sharks.

This past season, Middleton recorded seven goals and 25 points in 80 games with the Wild. He averaged just under 20 minutes a night, which included an average of 2:16 spent shorthanded. Middleton finished the season leading the Wild’s defense core in hits with 148 and blocked shots with 161. He’s quickly become a pillar for Minnesota on the back end.

Middleton’s NHL career has spanned over 239 career regular season games with the Sharks and Wild, collecting 57 points in the process. The Stratford, ON native also has 12 games of Stanley Cup Playoff experience under his belt.

Wild general manager Bill Guerin locks in his veteran defenseman for four more seasons. Guerin’s in a tough spot financially and continues to navigate a very tricky salary cap situation in Minnesota. The Wild have over $14.7 in dead cap space thanks to the buy outs of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, which goes down to just $1.6 million in 2025-26. Suter just accomplished a rare feat of being bought out for a second time as the Dallas Stars have now decided to move on.

As for the Wild, Guerin may have to make a trade to re-allocate some resources. Goaltender Filip Gustavsson and his $3.5 million cap hit continue to be a prime trade candidate as the Wild project to finish day one of free agency with just over $1.9 million in cap space.