The Wild added a physical, veteran defenseman to the mix on Friday, signing Jordie Benn to a one-year deal worth $900,000.
Benn, 34, will be playing in his 11th NHL season after skating for both Vancouver and Winnipeg last season. He had a goal and nine assists, with a plus-7 rating and 51 blocked shots in 39 games, playing for the Canucks until they traded him to the Jets in April. He played in three Stanley Cup playoff games before Winnipeg was eliminated.
The older brother of Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn has been in 556 NHL games in 10 seasons; he has also played for Montreal and Dallas. He has 24 goals and 103 points and is a plus-19; known as an excellent penalty killer, he has 908 blocked shots in regular-season games.
The 6-2, 200-pounder joins a Wild defensive corps that has captain Jared Spurgeon, Matt Dumba and Jonas Brodin on long-term deals. Alex Goligoski was signed as a free agent to fill the hole left by the buyout of Ryan Suter, and the team also added Dmitry Kulikov and Jon Merrill to the blueline. Calen Addison had 22 points in 31 games for the Iowa Wild last season, and played briefly in the regular season and playoffs.
The undrafted Jordie Benn became a professional player in the East Coast Hockey League and worked his way up the ladder before Dallas signed him in 2011. Jamie Benn, 32, is a former NHL scoring leader who led the Stars to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020.
The only regular player returning to the Wild who has not yet been signed is scoring leader Kirill Kaprizov. Training camp opens on Sept. 23.
