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On Tuesday afternoon, the Minnesota Wild announced via the team's official twitter account that the club had come to terms on a multi-year extension with pending unrestricted free agent goaltender, Josh Harding. Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune is reporting that it is a three-year, $5.7 million deal with an annual cap-hit of $1.9 million.
Source: Josh Harding signs a three-year, $5.7 million deal with #mnwild ($1.9 AAV)
— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) June 19, 2012
The 28-year old netminder registered a 13-12-4 record with a 2.62 goals against average and .917 save percentage in 34 appearances last season. Harding is excited at the prospects of the Wild's future and hopes to prove that he is capable of being a starting goaltender in the NHL.
Via the team's official site:
"I love being here, I love the city, I love the fans," Harding said. "It was really important for me to stay here and work towards my goal (of being a starting goaltender in the NHL)."
"Ever since I was drafted I've wanted to be the number one goalie for the Minnesota Wild," Harding said. "Obviously that's not going to be given to me.
"Hopefully, one day, I'll be able to take over."
To this point Harding has played backup up to 2009 Vezina finalist Niklas Backstrom, who is signed through the 2012-13 season prior to becoming an unrestricted free agent next offseason.
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