Wild avoid arbitration, agree to one-year deal with Brandon Duhaime
The Minnesota Wild crossed an item off their to-do list agreeing on a one-year deal with forward Brandon Duhaime on Sunday afternoon.
21 CAN YOU DO SOMETHING FOR ME! 🤯
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) July 16, 2023
We've re-signed forward Brandon Duhaime to a 1-year deal!
Full details » https://t.co/41bv7UY1Dd#mnwild pic.twitter.com/w9SQD9Cd4e
A staple of Minnesota's fourth line, Duhaime put up 27 points (15 G, 12 A) in 131 games with the Wild over the past two seasons By agreeing to a one-year deal, the Wild will avoid going to arbitration with the 25-year-old and Duhaime can become an unrestricted free agent after next season.
In the immediate future, Duhaime is slated to play on the fourth line with Connor Dewar and summer trade acquisition Pat Maroon in the upcoming season.
Duhaime's contract situation was one of the items Bill Guerin had to figure out in what's been a quiet offseason. Although they are hamstrung by a $14.7 million cap penalty, their next priority is to sign goaltender Filip Gustavsson, who filed for arbitration along with Duhaime back on July 5.
The Athletic's Joe Smith reported last month that a new deal for Gustavsson was "a matter of when" and the Star Tribune's Sarah McLellan reported also reported that both sides have been working on a deal.
After losing in the playoffs for the past three straight years, it doesn't appear that major changes are on the way, but it at least appears Minnesota will bring the same core back for next season.
