The Minnesota Wild re-signed Justin Fontaine to a two-year contract, the club announced on Tuesday, allowing the sides to avoid an arbitration hearing.
Though financial terms were not disclosed, Fontaine's agent, Neil Sheehy, tweeted that the deal was worth $2 million. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the salary will be $950,000 in the first year and $1.05 million in the second year of the contract.
The 26-year-old forward, who won an NCAA national championship at Minnesota-Duluth in 2011, tallied 21 points last year in his rookie season and had a plus-6 rating in 66 games. Fontaine's 13 goals in 2013-14 tied for fourth on the Wild and tied for 12th in the NHL among rookies. His goal total was third-best all-time for a Wild rookie and his plus-minus rating ranked second in franchise history for a first-year player.
Fontaine, who also had a goal in nine playoff games during Minnesota's run to the Western Conference semifinals, recorded a couple of memorable highlights last season. He scored his first professional goal just 12 seconds into a game against the Dallas Stars last October, setting a franchise record for fastest goal to start a game. Fontaine also notched the first hat trick by a Wild rookie when he scored three goals against the Phoenix Coyotes in January.
A restricted free agent, Fontaine was scheduled to have an arbitration hearing with the team on Friday. Minnesota still has two restricted free agents remaining, winger Nino Niederreiter and goalie Darcy Kuemper.
