The Wild’s already roomy budget has grown.
They have almost $18 million to work with ahead of NHL free agency opening Tuesday after trading forward Frederick Gaudreau to Seattle on Thursday for a fourth-round pick they can use Saturday at the draft.
Gaudreau, 32, has three seasons left on a five-year, $10.5 million contract, giving the Wild an additional $2.1 million in salary cap space.
That contract kicked in after Gaudreau’s best season with the Wild and in the NHL. The center/wing had 19 goals and 19 assists in 2022-23 as he established himself as an everyday NHLer. He initially joined the Wild in 2021 when he reunited with Dean Evason, who previously coached Gaudreau when they both were with Nashville’s minor-league team.
After a down 2023-24 in which Gaudreau tallied only five goals, he rebounded last season, finishing with 18 as the Wild continued to rely on his versatility by playing him all over the lineup; he was also only one of three Wild players in appear in all 82 regular-season games.
Overall, Gaudreau had 56 goals and 78 assists in 307 games with the Wild, who now have five picks going into the first round of the draft on Friday; the selection from the Kraken is No. 102.
