The Wild has signed winger Nino Niederreiter to a five-year, $26.25 million contract, sources say. That's a $5.25 million cap hit.
Niederreiter's contract, which has no no-trade protection and buys three of his unrestricted free agency years, was right in line with the market for recent settled contracts for comparable forwards _ the Rangers' Mika Zibanejad, Tampa Bay's Ondrej Palat and Detroit's Tomas Tatar _ who also filed for arbitration. He'll earn $4.6 million next season and tops out at $6.075 million in 2018-19. Like most recently signed contracts, Niederreiter's lowest salary ($4.25 million) comes in 2020-21 because of the risk of another lockout.
Niederreiter, who turns 25 on Sept. 8, set career highs last season with 25 goals, 32 assists, 57 points, a plus-17, 53 penalty minutes, eight power-play goals, 186 shots and 14 multi-point games.
The only Swiss-born player to score 20 goals in a season, Niederreiter has done that three years in a row.
He's one of four players who played all 82 games.
Mikael Granlund and Marcus Foligno are the only restricted free agents left.
Granlund and the Wild are also negotiating a multiyear deal ranging between three and five years, GM Chuck Fletcher said last week. If a deal can't be struck in advance of Friday, an arbitration hearing is scheduled.
Foligno did not file for arbitration. The Wild's expected to eventually sign him to a contract in the three- or four-year range.
