The Minnesota Wild are reportedly bringing back winger Chris Stewart. The physical winger played under Bruce Boudreau with the Anaheim Ducks, and before signing with the Ducks had been a trade deadline acquisition for the Minnesota Wild.
The deal is reported to carry a $1.15 million AAV over two years. His deal in Anaheim was just one year at $1.7 million, but he was coming off a two-year, $4.15 million deal where he didn’t quite deliver what had been expected of him.
The 28-year-old wing scored a career-low eight goals and 20 points last season, playing on a Ducks team that had serious troubles getting the puck in the net for the first half of the season. While he played very well for the Wild in his short stint there — scoring three goals and 11 points in 20 games with good possession numbers — his offense has been trailing off over the last few seasons, making it seem unlikely that it’s going to pick up in a new situation, though the very small cap hit may make that a little more palatable for the club.
Stewie sprint coming in hot #mnwild
— chris stewart (@Cstew_7) July 1, 2016
He’s the second significant signing for the Wild in the first hour of free agency. They landed Eric Staal on a three-year deal earlier in the day.
