The Minnesota Wild signed free agent defenceman Greg Pateryn to a three-year contract worth $6.75 million, or $2.25 million per season. This contract carries him through the 2020-21 season. The Wild also signed forwards Eric Fehr and Matt Hendricks to one-year deals. Hendricks deal is worth $700,000.
Hearing #mnwild will sign goalie Andrew Hammond to compete with Alex Stalock for the Wild backup/Iowa No. 1 spot
And, as I've previously reported, Greg Pateryn and Eric Fehr will be signing with the Wild
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) July 1, 2018
Greg Pateryn Signs With the Minnesota Wild
Pateryn has played with the Montreal Canadiens and Dallas Stars in his six-year NHL career. He has put up three goals and 26 assists for 29 career points in 167 career games. He was originally drafted in the fifth round, 128th overall of the 2008 NHL draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Last season he scored one goal and 12 assists for 13 points. He also added 50 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 49.8 percent Corsi-For and a relative Corsi of -1.7.
Pateryn had been rumoured to come to the team for weeks, but now it’s come to fruition. He’ll join Eric Fehr and Andrew Hammond as acquisitions by new general manager Paul Fenton.
Fehr
Fehr played 14 games for the San Jose Sharks last season and four games for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He scored a goal and three assists for four points. The veteran can play both centre and wing. He has 106 goals and 100 assists for 206 career points in 580 career games over his 12-year NHL career.
Hendricks
Hendricks spent last season with the Winnipeg Jets. In mostly fourth line minutes, he put up five goals and eight assists for 13 points in 60 games. Hendricks has scored 54 goals and 59 assists for 113 career points in 581 career NHL games.
What This Means for the Future
Pateryn is an old-school defenceman that doesn’t pump in a lot of goals but is very solid at his own end of the ice. He knows how to handle the puck and doesn’t make mistakes with it that often.
The Sterling Heights, Mich. native is also a big body at 6-foot-3, 224 pounds that will throw his weight around. He’ll use every ounce of that frame to knock offensive players off the puck.
Pateryn hasn’t played a full 82-game season in any of six years in the league but does have potential to be a reliable defender. He did well with increased responsibilities with the Stars as he played 19 minutes a game this season.
There are some skilled forwards in the Central Division and Pateryn will bolster Minnesota’s defensive group.
Fehr and Hendricks are veteran forwards who can help out the Wild’s bottom two lines. They will be bottom six players but may move up in the lineup for short stretches if injuries hit.
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