(Saint Paul) The Minnesota Wild agreed to a two-year, $8.25 million contract extension with right winger Mats Zuccarello on Friday, a move that solidifies the Minnesota Wild’s top offensive unit. the team beyond the approaching season.

The 36-year-old Zuccarello had three years with at least 20 goals in 13 NHL seasons. Two of them were recorded in a Wild uniform during each of the last two campaigns.

In 2022-23, he has 22 goals and leads his team in assists with 45.

A native of Norway, Zuccarello is a close friend and teammate of Kirill Kaprizov, one of the Wild’s big stars, and will enter his fifth season with the Minnesota club.

Five of the six forwards expected to make up the Wild’s top two lines have signed contracts that extend at least through the end of the 2024-25 season.

Ryan Hartman, the center who usually pivots the line completed by Kaprisov and Zuccarello, is likely to become a free agent next summer.

Zuccarello, who began his career with the New York Rangers, signed a five-year, US$30 million deal with the Wild on July 1, 2019.