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The Minnesota Wild announced Tuesday that it has re-signed goaltender Josh Harding to a three-year contract worth $5.7 million.
The 6-foot-1-inch, 197-pound 28-year-old Saskatchewan native played an NHL career-high 34 games last season. He posted a 13-12-6 record with a 2.62 goals against average and .917 save percentage.
He missed all of the 2010-11 season after tearing his ACL and MCL during a preseason game.
He has a career record of 41-51-14 in four full seasons and portions of two others. He has compiled a career 2.65 goals against average and .916 save percentage.
His contract carries a cap-hit of $1.9 million per season. That still gives the Wild just under $20 million in cap space for next season.
Instant Analysis
Both the Wild and Harding get the security they want.
Harding knows where he will be playing for the next three seasons and the Wild do not have to search for NHL goaltenders for that same span.
Niklas Backstrom has one year remaining on his contract. He is 34 and has had some injury issues the last couple years.
Harding is more than capable to be a starting goaltender if the young goaltenders are slow to develop or struggle.
He also has proven to be a very good backup if necessary.
The Wild and Harding both solidified their futures for the next three seasons.
Future Analysis
A multi-year contract suggests that Backstrom will not be back next season and Harding will enter the 2013-14 season as the backup to Matt Hackett.
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