Wild sign veteran defenseman Jordie Benn to 1-year deal

August 28, 2021 GMT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Wild signed defenseman Jordie Benn to a one-year, $900,000 contract on Friday, adding another veteran option after an offseason of change on the blue line.

The 34-year-old Benn had one goal, nine assists and a plus-7 rating over 39 games with the Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets last season. He played in three playoff games for the Jets.

Benn has 24 goals, 103 assists, 670 hits and 908 blocked shots in 556 career NHL games, mostly with the Dallas Stars. The Wild will be his fifth NHL team.

The Wild return defensemen Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin and Matt Dumba, but they bought out the contract of Ryan Suter, let Ian Cole leave as a free agent and lost Carson Soucy in the expansion draft. Prior to signing Benn, the Wild already added veteran free agents Alex Goligoski, Dmitry Kulikov and Jon Merrill.

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