Minnesota Wild sign John Madden
The Minnesota Wild have announced that they have signed forward John Madden to a one-year deal worth $1 million. The 37-year-old Toronto native won a Stanley Cup last year with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Madden began his professional career playing for the University of Michigan. He had a fabulous career with Michigan, scoring over a point-a-game in each of his final three seasons. In his final year, Madden notched 63 points in 43 games. Throughout his career with Michigan, Madden tallied an outstanding 180 points in 160 games.
Madden went undrafted and therefore was a free agent coming out of college. He was signed by the New Jersey Devils and assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate the Albany River Rats.
Madden only spent one season in the AHL before being called up to the Devils full-time. He made a career in New Jersey as a defensive forward, winning the Selke Trophy as the leagues best defensive forward in 2001. He was also nominated for the award in 2004 and 2008.
Madden spent 10 years with the Devils before leaving to join the Blackhawks last season.
Madden was allowed to walk away from the Blackhawks because of the teams ongoing salary cap crunch. He was an important part of their shut down line, and will be tough to replace by the time the puck drops in October.
Signing Madden fills out the Wild’s third line and gives them a little bit more of a defensive presence up front.
Madden is likely to join Chuck Kobasew and Cal Clutterbuck to form the teams shut down unit.
Last year with the Blackhawks, Madden managed 23 points in 79 games.
Madden is no longer as effective as he once was, and this is likely to be his last season in the league. However, we still have yet to see what he can produce on the ice this season with the Minnesota Wild.
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