Minnesota Wild, German-born, unrestricted free agent signing, center Nico Sturm(78) is enjoying a first full (weirdo) season in the NHL, where he has tallied 8 goals and 5 assists in 41 games with a pretty excellent +14 rating on a team that is already playoff bound.
He’s still under a two-year one-way contract he signed before the start of 2020/2021.
The rather large 6’3″ 205 lbs. forward played 3 seasons at Clarkson University Golden Knights, leaving after posting college career highs of 14 goals and 31 assists for 45 points with a +23.
At 25-years old, he takes his place amongst many other “graduates” to the big league from the college.
It may have the biggest piece of career move luck, as he takes his career high 8 assists and points tied at 17 to a new endeavor on a trade to super-hot Colorado Avalanche.
He is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the current session.
His luck would be worth a 2022 Stanley Cup with his new team and he would show himself to be a pivotal player.
San Jose Sharks like what they see and ink him for 3-years, $2M AAV, giving the now 27-year old a nice first big payday.
In his 3rd season with the same team, things are maybe ticking down a bit, so he gets a new, sunnier zip code in a trade for future considerations with Florida Panthers, where he should find better light to his game.
Despite being hobbled by the injury bug, he appears in 15 regular season games and 8 in the playoffs to be a contributor and hoist a 2025 Stanley Cup.
For 2025/2026, he looks to stay healthy and signs a 2-year, $2M AAV deal with Minnesota Wild, returning to the 1st team he signed with out of college.