Wild sign Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Matt Kiersted to contracts

Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin announced a couple of signings on Wednesday. He revealed that the team has signed forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel to a one-year, two-way contract, as well as Matt Kiersted, who joins the Wild on a two-year, two-way deal.

Aube-Kubel’s deal carries an NHL cap hit of $775,000 and a minor-league salary of $500,000. It’s a bit of a pay cut for the veteran forward, who is coming off a one-year contract, which he signed with the Buffalo Sabres, that had a cap hit of $1.5 million. The Alberta native saw time in both the NHL and AHL, playing for Buffalo and its primary affiliate, the Rochester Americans.

Aube-Kubel was traded to the New York Rangers prior to the trade deadline, playing six games between the Rangers and the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. In 22 NHL games last year, he scored a goal and an assist for two points. He also notched five goals and four assists for nine points in 15 AHL contests.

In 304 career NHL appearances, the 29-year-old has scored 32 goals and 48 assists for 80 points. He’s also scored 56 goals and 61 assists for 117 points in 255 AHL games.

Kiersted is coming off an eventful postseason. While he played a couple of games with the Florida Panthers during the regular season, the former North Dakota star went on quite the ride with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. Kiersted and the Checkers made it all the way to the Calder Cup Final, ultimately losing to the Abbotsford Canucks, the Vancouver Canucks’ top farm teams.

Kiersted registered eight assists in 13 games during the playoffs after scoring a goal and 28 assists for 29 points in 64 regular-season affairs.

The 27-year-old had been with the Panthers organization since turning pro in 2021. In 39 NHL games, he has scored two goals and five assists for seven points. Kiersted has posted 16 goals and 69 assists for 85 points in 233 AHL contests, including 12 points in 30 postseason games.