New deal keeps Foligno where he wanted to be all along

Marcus Foligno has made no bones about his desire to remain a member of the Wild. Entering a contract season, Foligno was set to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time after the upcoming campaign.
Not anymore.
The Wild signed Foligno to a three-year contract extension on Tuesday worth $9.3 million ($3.1 million AAV), a deal that will keep him in the State of Hockey through at least the 2023-24 season.

"I believe that we are headed in that direction where we're going to be a contending team," Foligno said. "I'm excited about the players we have and just the group that we have. So that's the biggest thing is that I want to win. I don't just want to be comfortable and just sit back and play out my career. I want to win a Stanley Cup. And it's exciting knowing that we're headed in a direction of being a Stanley Cup-contending team."
About to begin his fourth season with the Wild, the man teammates call "Moose" has become one of the most tenured -- and respected -- members of the club. He's also coming off perhaps his best season as a pro, where he scored 11 goals and 25 points, the latter marking a new career high.
More than the statistics, however, is the value Foligno brings overall.
An accomplished penalty killer, Foligno brings toughness, secondary scoring, leadership and an ability to play up and down the lineup in a pinch.
He really is a player that touches every aspect of what the team does on a day-in, day-out basis.

"There aren't many of them left, but they're still important," said Wild General Manager Bill Guerin. "Those are important guys to have, and you can see teams when they have a guy like this, they try to lock 'em up. Internally, we were always talking about, 'Well, if Marcus leaves or if we have to trade him, well, as soon as he leaves, we're going to be trying to replace him,' and they're just not many of them out there. So there is value."
The younger brother of Columbus Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno, and son of longtime NHLer Mike Foligno, Marcus comes from a respected hockey family.
Mike was a captain for the Buffalo Sabres while Nick is the current captain of the Blue Jackets.

"I just think it's a trickle-down effect. They probably watched their dad closely, and they're around other people like that growing up. And that rubs off on you," Guerin said. "When you're raised a certain way, that doesn't just leave you. So it's no surprise that him and his brother have great leadership qualities. Like I said, they're standup, character guys. They defend their teammates, they play hard every night, there's no off nights. They're pros. And growing up in that sort of environment, they're made for that."
Foligno was certainly someone Guerin and coach Dean Evason considered when deciding on who would wear the captain's 'C' in Minnesota. They eventually settled on defenseman Jared Spurgeon, but that doesn't mean they won't continue to lean on Foligno to take on added leadership.
"You don't have to wear a letter to be a leader," Guerin said. "He is a leader. He's a big personality. He's one of the guys who keeps our room loose. But he also has the ability to hold guys' hands to the fire. I've been clear with Marcus, that's a big reason we value him, as well as his play.
"We're going to rely on him. We're going to rely on him to be part of the change that's going on here, to make sure that things are going well in the locker room and on the ice. He's a guy that looks after everybody, too, on and off the ice. Very valuable person for our organization."
Traded to the Wild in the summer of 2017, Foligno and his wife, Natascha have had two girls, Olivia (two years old) and Camila (three months), both of whom were born in Minnesota.

"[Olivia] was pumped. She came down from her nap in her Minnesota Wild jersey of mine, so that was a pretty cool touch that my wife did," Foligno said. "She's excited. It'll be nice for her to start going to school here in Minnesota."
The hope now is that, even with expansion coming ahead of next season, Foligno will be calling the state home for many years to come.
The Seattle Kraken will officially enter the NHL this summer, with the Expansion Draft slated to take place in late July. The rules for this are the same as when Vegas entered the League three years ago. Teams can protect either seven forwards, three defensemen and a goalie, or they can guard eight skaters and a goalie.
Last time, the Wild went the 7-3-1 route, but with three defensemen on the roster with no movement clauses in their contracts (they must be protected), along with Matt Dumba, it may make more sense for Minnesota to go 8-1 this time around.
In addition to Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin, Zach Parise and Mats Zuccarello also have no-movement clauses in their contracts.
Assuming Dumba and Kevin Fiala will also be protected, Foligno will aim to make himself the eighth man protected by the club.
"We didn't sign Marcus to this to lose him," Guerin said. "He's a very valuable guy to our team and we want to keep him. That's the bottom line. I don't really know how else to say it, but we want to keep him."
Still, Foligno knows the business of hockey, perhaps as well as any player on the Wild roster. Had he simply played out his contract and become a free agent, Foligno would have had far more control over his long-term future.
Ultimately, however, Minnesota is where he wanted to be. And the challenge of earning his way onto the protected list is one he says he relishes.
"Seattle comes into play for sure, it's always in the back of your mind, but my goal is to put up a fight of why they should protect me and to be a player for this organization for a long time," Foligno said. "That's my main goal and that's what I'm trying to prove."