Don Lucia will still make $630,000 as Gophers special assistant to AD

Don Lucia will make the same amount as a special assistant to the athletic director over the next 14 months as he would have as Gophers men's hockey head coach next season. Lucia, who resigned Tuesday, will make $630,000 during his tenure as a special assistant to Mark Coyle.

He had one season left on his contract when he resigned. The new contract for his new job was finalized and approved by the Board of Regents on Friday. Lucia's new duties focus on fundraising for improvements to 3M Arena at Mariucci.

The annual salary for his 14-month job works out to be $588,500, less than his annual coaching salary. But the two extra months on the new deal makes Lucia even in the end.

He will be paid a base salary of $290,000 over the 14 months and will receive supplemental pay (retirement plan payment) of $340,000 on July 1, 2019. The adjusted contract runs from May 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019. While the total is the same, the base salary and supplemental pay amounts changed from his previous contract, which called for $375,000 and $255,000, respectively.

The New York Rangers announced they've agreed to terms with Gophers sophomore defenseman Ryan Lindgren, who will forgo his final two years of eligibility, as previously reported. Lindgren, who left the team earlier in the week, was a top defenseman and had two goals and seven assists in 35 games. The 6-foot, 202-pounder played for the U.S. for the past two years in the World Junior Championship teams.

Lindgren was a second-round pick of the Boston Bruins in the 2016 NHL draft, and his rights were traded to the Rangers at this year's trading deadline.

Two Gophers seniors, defenseman Jack Glover and forward Leon Bristedt, also signed professional contracts. Glover signed with the Jacksonville Icemen of the ECHL, an affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets, who drafted Glover in the third round in 2014. Bristedt, a native of Stockholm, Sweden, signed a two-year contract with Rogle BK of the Swedish Hockey League.