Wild sign Bobby Brink to one-year, $2.75 million contract
The Minnesota Wild have signed winger Bobby Brink to a one-year, $2.75 million contract.
The Athletic’s Michael Russo was the first to report the signing.
Brink was a originally a restricted free agent after the conclusion of his two-year contract with a $1.5 million cap hit, but after the Wild did not qualify him, he would have become an unrestricted free agent. Minnesota didn’t give Brink a qualifying offer, likely due to a $4 million arbitration award, in hopes of getting him in at a cheaper price. In the end, they do at a $2.75 million cap hit, while Brink gets to bet on himself with a one-year deal and perhaps get a better contract next season.
Brink’s new contract comes with no bonuses or contracts, and takes up one RFA year. The deal will take up just 2.64% of the Wild’s cap space in 2026-27, and with Brink being 25 when the deal expires, he will still be an RFA with arbitration rights, and a qualifying offer that matches his $2.75 million cap hit. His closest contract comparable is Jonatan Berggren, who signed a one-year, $2 million contract earlier today after also not receiving a qualifying offer from the St. Louis Blues.
Brink was a second-round pick for the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2019 NHL Draft, and after spending three seasons with the University of Denver, he made his NHL debut after the conclusion of his 2021-22 collegiate season. He spent three professional seasons between the NHL and AHL before becoming a full-time NHLer in 2024-25. He was then dealt to the Wild at the 2026 trade deadline in exchange for David Jiricek.
Brink took a step back in 2025-26, as he had just 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points in 68 games, including just two goals and four points in 13 games with the Wild. While he set a new career high in goals, his overall production dropped from the 41 points he had in 2024-25.
Brink also had one assist in four games in the playoffs.
Besides signing Brink, the only other notable move the Wild have made this offseason was signing Michael McCarron to a six-year extension earlier in June. The Wild have $6,669,168 in salary cap space according to PuckPedia with 15 UFAs and five RFAs left to sign, highlighted by Mats Zuccarello, Vladimir Tarasenko and Marcus Johansson.