It’s official. Joel Eriksson Ek will continue playing for the Minnesota Wild, at least for the next eight years. The NHL forward inked the contract yesterday (July 2), which is worth $42 million.
Why Eriksson Ek is the Right Guy for the Wild
There’s no doubt that the Wild made the perfect decision when picking this young guy to be a part of their team. Eriksson Ek is only 24 years old, meaning he has a lot of fire in his skates to keep on burning.
In addition, he has made the most out of his career so far. He set two career high during the 2020-21 NHL season. The first was scoring 19 goals and 30 points, paired with plus-minus (plus-16) and a face-off percentage of 47.1.
Keep in mind, the NHL forward did all of this in a shortened 56-game hockey season, so that’s quite impressive.
The Wild has an amazing player on their roster, and now that he’s here to stay for eight more years, the organization can rest easy knowing they have a very valuable player.
Eriksson Ek also helped his team become eligible for the playoffs and even scored two goals and made one assist (three points in total) during the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Eriksson Ek was originally selected in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft by the Wild. In his six-year career with the team, he has recorded 96 points (43 goals, 53 assists). These stats alone are interesting, because he did all of this in just 266 regular-season games.
In addition, his playoff performance is on point for the twam. He has made five points in 19 Stanley Cup Playoff matches. Three goals and two assists were made by Eriksson Ek in that time span.
The Wild’s Upcoming Season Looks Bright
The Wild had an amazing season last year. They played some tough games but defied all odds and won. Sure, they had their fair share of losses, but it really doesn’t matter now. In the end, the Wild wrapped up their recent season third in the West Division with a 35-16-5 win-loss-tie record.
During the postseason, the Wild worked hard. They were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round, as they had a tough time playing against the Vegas Golden Knights. However, they gave the Golden Knights a hard time, forcing a Game 7 after tying up the game at 3 apiece with a 3-0 win in favor of the Wild.
The upcoming 2021-22 NHL season looks like it will be a positive one for the team. Based on their performance this season, the Wild will be in for a great year. Additionally, resigning Eriksson Ek was the right decision, as he is a high-quality player the team has to have.
But, that’s only the beginning. There’s still plenty of time left before October, meaning there will likely be many more resigned contracts and, possibly, some new faces added to the squad. This will certainly bolster up the Wild’s roster and help them have a strong, dominating season this year.
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