Minnesota Wild Sign Clayton Stoner To Two-Year Extension

The Minnesota Wild had a roller coaster of a season, but it was only so by a technicality. There weren't a lot of twists and turns but, by definition, it was a roller coaster, given the massive change in expectations, followed by the massive crushing of said expectations. That being said, those massive changes in expectations might be something that will carry into next season - we've now seen that the Wild can sit at the top of the NHL standings for a month.

As such, it will be important to keep some people around. The team isn't too far off, and it would be a mistake to hit the big red button now and start over. The Wild realize that and have made a solid re-signing to jump-start this offseason. The Pioneer Press reports that the Wild have re-signed defenseman Clayton Stoner.

The Minnesota Wild have signed defenseman Clayton Stoner to a two-year contract extension, general manager Chuck Fletcher announced Thursday, May 10.

Stoner still has some growing to do - even a defenseman is expected to put up more than one goal and four assists over the course of an entire season, but he did lead all defensemen in plus-minus rating at plus-3. Minnesota has a strong group of goalies, but Niklas Backstrom can't handle it all by himself. Stoner is a good start, but the Wild will definitely be in the market for a bigger-name defenseman this offseason.