Wild Re-Sign Daemon Hunt To One-Year Deal

7 PM: Hunt’s new contract has been made official per the team, as he and the Wild have agreed on a one-year deal worth $900k.

With his signing crossed off Minnesota’s defense core is set for next season, barring any trades which are speculated to involve a big addition up front to help out the center ice position. Left with just over $1MM in cap space, the hope will be that the cost-effective lefty can become a full-time NHLer in 2026-27 as their seventh option on the blue line. Hunt found himself back with his original club after an October waiver claim from Columbus.

Looking to graduate to the highest level for his age 24 season and not return to AHL Iowa, both Hunt and the Wild would benefit if he can play in at least 35 games next season. Such would remove the possibility of him becoming a Group 6 unrestricted free agent, a condition existing for expiring contract players aged 25 or older, who have yet to play in 80 NHL contests.

3 PM: The Minnesota Wild are nearing a new contract with restricted free-agent defenseman Daemon Hunt per Michael Russo of The Athletic. This deal is expected to come through before the July 5th deadline to file for salary arbitration. Hunt will sacrifice his only year of arbitration eligibility in favor of a new deal in Minnesota.

The Wild awarded Hunt with his rookie season in the NHL last year. He recorded six assists in 32 appearances, while battling through a lower-body injury in December and an upper-body injury in February. Hunt didn’t break out as a rookie – but he did enough to secure Minnesota’s role of extra defender after the departure of David Jiricek and Travis Dermott last season.

The 2020 third-round pick has now appeared in 45 NHL games across three seasons. He has also appeared in 173 AHL games since debuting in the league in 2022. Hunt has notched 59 points and a minus-11 in his minor-league career.

Hunt will fight to hang onto his seventh-defender role through the 2026-27 season. He may have gained a step in that challenge after Minnesota traded Jacob Middleton to the Calgary Flames. The Wild returned veteran left-defender Olli Maatta to fill Middleton’s role in that move – though Hunt’s physicality could make him a better replacement than the soon-to-be-32-year-old Maatta. Hunt will try to push Maatta’s standing in the daily lineup, while facing pressure from Viking Gustafsson Nyberg, and RFAs Carson Lambos and David Spacek, in the AHL.

Pro Hockey Rumors’ Bradley Keith also contributed to this article.