According to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune, the Wild have signed center John Madden, most recently of the Chicago Blackhawks. Madden, who turned 37 years old in May, will likely slot in as the Wild's checking-line center, and will assuredly be the leader of the penalty-kill unit.
↵Madden won Stanley Cups with the Devils in 2000 and 2003, and with the Blackhawks last season. Russo referred to him as a "warrior" - appropriate, for a guy that's played at least 74 games in every one of his NHL seasons, and has scored at least ten goals and 20 points in every one of them. He's also a former Selke winner (that's best defensive forward, for you non-puckheads), and was runner-up for the award three other times.
↵To sum up: veteran guy, great fourth-line center, defensive asset, even has a little bit of goal-scoring talent (he used to be famous for scoring short-handed, as I recall.) Sure, he's old, but so what?
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