Scandella Agrees To 5-year Extension With Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Defenseman Marco Scandella agreed to a five-year extension with the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.

The deal will run through the 2019-20 season.

Terms of the deal were not announced.

The 24-year-old Scandella has five goals and three assists in 20 games this season. His overtime goal Friday in Dallas was his third winner of the season. He is a plus-7 and has a team-leading 32 penalty minutes.

Scandella, a second-round pick in the 2008 draft, has 12 goals and 28 assists in 185 games during five seasons with the Wild.

"He's arguably our top defensive defenseman and when you see the maturation of his game offensively, it's a real nice combination of skills to have," general manager Chuck Fletcher said before Saturday's game with St. Louis.

"It's certainly a big commitment on his part," Fletcher added. "He likes the direction of the team, he likes his role on the team, he likes his teammates. It doesn't happen without the player wholeheartedly buying into what we're trying to accomplish."