SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Wild President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has signed defenseman Jake Middleton to a four-year, $17.4 million contract extension ($4.35 million average annual value) that begins in the 2025-26 season and goes through the 2028-29 season.
Middleton, 28 (1/2/96), collected 25 points (7-18=25), 77 penalty minutes (PIM), 148 hits and 161 blocked shots in 80 games with Minnesota last season. He led the Wild in PIM and blocked shots and ranked third in hits, and his goal total was T-2nd among team defensemen. The 6-foot-3, 219-pound native of Stratford, Ontario, set career-highs in points, goals, assists, PIM and games played last season, and skated in his 200th career NHL game on January 12 vs. Philadelphia. He tallied five assists in 10 games to help Team Canada win the gold medal at the 2023 IIHF World Championship and led the tournament with a plus-12 rating. Minnesota acquired Middleton from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen and a fifth-round selection in the 2022 NHL Draft on March 21, 2022.
Originally selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the seventh round (210th overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft, Middleton owns 57 points (14-43=57), 244 PIM, 402 hits and 448 blocked shots in 239 career NHL games in six seasons with San Jose (2018-22) and Minnesota (2022-24). The left-shot blueliner has three points (0-3=3), 10 PIM and a plus-4 rating in 12 Stanley Cup Playoff games with Minnesota.
