Matt Boldy framed to be a 'cornerstone of the organization'

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Matt Boldy was saluted with a solid minute of stick taps and yelling to get into the center of the ice after an hourlong practice at TRIA rink on Monday.

There was constant chirping of "49 SHEETS!" and "HE'S BUYING DINNER" with even more than usual jubilation filled in the locker room post-practice.
Yes, it's safe to say that the Minnesota Wild players are beyond thrilled for their teammate and his newly minted 7-year, $49 million contract extension.
"A deal like this? 21 years old. $49 million. He better be the most confident guy walking into that rink today," general manager Bill Guerin said with a smile.
But big contract or not, Boldy remains the happy and humbled kid from Milford, Mass.
"I called my parents right away, and they're super excited and happy for me," Boldy said. "Obviously a pretty cool moment to share with them. They've done so much for me. To see it all come together and be able to tell them, that was really cool.
"I got to share that with them last night. I'll never forget that."

While the current roster has several unrestricted and restricted free agents to lock in at some point between now and the offseason, securing Boldy was priority No. 1 for Guerin.
"We didn't know if it was going to be a two-year bridge deal or something like that," said Guerin, who noted negotiations on term and salary were done in the course of five days. "We didn't know what the long-term deal looked like, if it was going to be seven or eight years. So we have some clarity now and we can maybe move ahead with some of the other guys. But we just felt this was something that we needed to get done before we started moving ahead with anyone else.
"We think he's going to be a big part of our core moving forward. It's only been a short time in the league for him, but he's had a big impact on our team both on the ice and as a part of the team in the locker room. We have a lot of confidence in Matt. We realize that it's early in his career, but we feel like Matt is going to be one the cornerstones of our organization."
Boldy has spent most of his career proving himself an elite talent. The left-handed forward was a part of a 2019 USA Hockey National Team Development Program that had 17 players drafted into the NHL including eight first-round selections (the Wild selected Boldy at No. 12).
Boldy signed a three-year, entry-level deal and began pro with the American Hockey League's Iowa Wild on March 30, 2021, after spending two seasons and amassing 57 points (20 goals, 37 assists) at Boston College. In 24 games in Iowa, he had 28 points, and through 89 games with the big club, he has 27 goals and 68 points with a plus-17 rating.
"He's really young, so it's fantastic," coach Dean Evason said. "His development in going to Iowa and developing into a player there. His process is the one that we believe in."
"He's a goal scorer and he shoots the puck. We want him to do that. It says a lot about him that he's unselfish. He wants to share the puck for sure because he's a great teammate. But he has to be reminded every now and then that he can be selfish and he can shoot the puck."
Frederick Gaudreau and Ryan Hartman joke that they hope he's unselfish by way of spreading some of his wealth - literally.
"I would take everyone out to dinner. Especially your linemates, buy them a new suitcase or bag. Yeah, that sounds fair. Something for the linemates," Hartman joked. "Jokes aside, they just don't give (those contracts) out. Obviously, the organization sees that in him and sees his work ethic. They don't just hand out that type of money and that type of term to guys who don't deserve it. He deserves every dollar of it. I know he's gonna keep working to prove it as well."

"He deserves all of it," Gaudreau added. "He's a great, great player. A great teammate. He's mature. He's dominant on the ice. Very happy for him. That's awesome."

And no one wants to prove it more than Boldy himself. Pressure? No. Excitement to be thought so highly of with a team that he's been happy to be a part of from Day 1? Absolutely.
"You want to be the player that makes a difference," Boldy said. "Play for as long as you can and make a big impact. That's what I want to do. I don't want to just go out there and just be happy with being in the league. I'm gonna go out there and play well and score goals and help this team."