Spurgeon agrees to seven-year contract extension with Wild

Jared Spurgeon agreed to terms on a seven-year, $53.025 million contract extension with the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. It has an average annual value of $7.575 million.

The 29-year-old defenseman set NHL career highs in goals (14), assists (29) and points (43) in 82 games with the Wild last season. He could have become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
"I honestly hadn't even thought about unrestricted free agency," Spurgeon said. "I've always said I wanted to stay here and we want to win, and that's the main thing. When (general manager) Bill [Guerin] came in, like I said, he had a plan in place and what he said hit home for me.
"I think everyone will try to tell themselves they're not going to worry about it, but once you get into the season, it'll be in the back of your mind, and if things aren't going as well, I think you might be pressuring yourself more. Like I said, it happened pretty quick, I'm happy it's done."
Selected by the New York Islanders in the sixth round (No. 156) of the 2008 NHL Draft, Spurgeon didn't sign with them and was signed as a free agent by the Wild on Sept. 23, 2010.

"We love Jared. He's a homegrown guy," Guerin said. "He's been here his whole career and we want him to be here his whole career. It was very important for us to get this done. As far as player transactions and things like that, this was the priority. ... He's excited about it, we're excited about it. It's a perfect fit. We didn't want him going anywhere."
Spurgeon has 248 points (70 goals, 178 assists) in 591 regular-season games (nine seasons) and 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in 44 Stanley Cup Playoff games for Minnesota.
He ranks third in Wild history in games played, is eighth in points and is their leader in goals by a defenseman.
"I think the group of guys that we have [at defenseman] and also with Bill, when he came in he talked to me about the vision he has and, like I said before, he's won as a player and in management, and to be in one spot as a player your entire career is a pretty cool thing," Spurgeon said. "Ever since I've been here all I wanted to do is win here, so I'm not sure why you'd want to leave."
NHL.com independent correspondent Jessi Pierce contributed to this report