- Wild re-signed defenseman David Spacek to a one-year, two-way contract worth $850K at the NHL level
- Forward Caeden Bankier also signed a one-year, two-way deal coming off his entry-level contract
- Read below for the terms and what both players bring to Minnesota
The Minnesota Wild locked up two more of their own restricted free agents on Wednesday.
David Spacek and Caeden Bankier each signed one-year, two-way contracts, per Pro Hockey Rumors. Spacek’s deal pays him $850,000 at the NHL level, and Bankier lands the same NHL figure now that his entry-level contract has run out.
Spacek is a 23-year-old defenseman who has spent the last three years climbing the organization’s depth chart. He put up seven goals and 36 points in 59 games with AHL Iowa last season, tying for third on the team in scoring.
He got his first taste of the NHL in mid-January, playing a pair of games against Winnipeg and Montreal. Hockey runs in the family too. His father, Jaroslav Spacek, logged 14 seasons on NHL blue lines, and David was born in Columbus back in 2003 while his dad suited up for the Blue Jackets.
Bankier brings some secondary scoring down the middle. The 23-year-old forward has 69 points in 185 games across three seasons with Iowa, and this deal keeps him in the fold as he tries to break through.
Both fit the same mold Minnesota has leaned on all summer. The Wild signed Roman Schmidt to a similar two-way deal earlier in the week, and these two moves leave the team with just one restricted free agent still unsigned.
Camp will sort out the roster picture, but the two-way structure points to Iowa as the likely landing spot for both to open the year.
