The Minnesota Wild and Jordan Schroeder agreed yesterday to a one-year contract worth $650,000 avoiding a possible arbitration hearing that was scheduled for Tuesday. The deal shores up Schroeder to fill out the Wild’s depth, but will it be the last contract Schroeder signs?
Jordan Schroeder and the Minnesota Wild finally came to an agreement yesterday afternoon on a one-year contract to avoid an impending arbitration hearing scheduled for Tuesday of this week. Sportsnet is reporting that Schroeder’s deal will be a two-way deal that will pay Schroeder $650,000 at the NHL level and $275,000 while he’s in the AHL. That’s a modest pay raise from his last deal with the Wild, but more importantly pays Schroeder $150,000 more in the AHL and $50,000 more in the NHL.
All this coming after a hard week that saw Schroeder put on and clear waivers in a move that was seen as a leverage move by the Wild to make an arbitration hearing go their way. It seems that move worked as Schroeder must have seen the writing on the wall after he cleared waivers. By clearing waivers unclaimed the Wild would be able to show an arbitrator that his relative value in the league was not high and that a two-way deal for modest money would be more appropriate.
The rumor was that Schroeder wanted a one-way deal that would keep him paid at an NHL level no matter if he was with Minnesota or Iowa. Still in the end it seems that his play just did not warrant that one-way deal. The issue always seemed to be was that the Wild had to prove to Schroeder that he hadn’t earned the one-way contract.
Related Story: Minnesota Wild Place Jordan Schroeder on Waivers
Still this one-year contract will be his last with the Wild if he can’t increase his level of play. This is his year to finally show that he is the player the Canucks drafted 22nd overall in 2009. The glimmer of hope here is that he capitalizes on a solid year in Iowa, where he scored 34 points, and finally translate that success to the NHL.
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Chances are he’ll have that opportunity. With the Wild still a few players short of filling out the 23-man Minnesota roster, it seems that Schroeder is slated for a depth forward spot up with the big club in 2016-17. He may not see a lot of playing time, but Schroeder will more than likely receive an NHL paycheck for most of the year. The only thing that could change that is the rise of some of the young players in Iowa, and based on development camp that possibility has increased.
Perhaps most of all though Schroeder’s spot on the roster becomes too valuable next season for the Wild to continue to keep him. As prospects continue to play better than him and show more potential, it becomes less about the money and more about the spot he’s taking from younger guys with more potential.
Next: Choices to Fill The Remaining Roster Spots
Going forward the Wild and Schroeder will have to do some fence mending and then get back to the business of playing hockey. The good news is there seems to be a spot for Schroeder…for now. The Wild need him for his experience, but if Schroeder wants the Wild to keep him it will have to be for his improved play and production.