Wild signs Jon Merrill to three-year contract extension, waives Rem Pitlick

What could have been a stopgap solution is now a long-term partnership between the Wild and Jon Merrill.

The team announced a three-year contract extension worth $3.6 million for the defenseman Tuesday, a deal that kicks in next season and runs through 2024-25.

Merrill was brought in last July, signing a one-year deal for $850,000 to help patch up the holes from a drastic makeover on the blue line that subtracted Ryan Suter, Ian Cole and Carson Soucy.

A veteran in his ninth NHL season who previously played for New Jersey, Vegas, Detroit and Montreal, Merrill arrived as a candidate for a spot on the third pairing and could have been facing a rotation with Jordie Benn for that seat. Instead, the 29-year-old has become a mainstay in the Wild lineup and has even been elevated up the depth chart because of injury.

Not only has Merrill appeared in all 33 games this season, but he's tied for first on the Wild in blocked shots with 51 while being one of the team's most utilized penalty killers. Merrill's eight blocked shots Dec. 11 at Los Angeles were a career-best and tied for the second-most in franchise history.

He's also chipped in on offense, with three goals and eight assists. His 11 points are the most since Merrill registered a career-high of 15 in 2018-19. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound native of Oklahoma City was drafted in the second round, 38th overall, by the Devils in 2010.

The Wild placed forward Rem Pitlick on waivers.

If he clears, the 24-year-old can be assigned to the Wild's taxi squad or Iowa in the American Hockey League.

In 20 games this season, Pitlick has six goals and five assists. The Wild claimed the former Gopher from Plymouth off waivers from Nashville during training camp. On Nov. 13 at Seattle, Pitlick became just the 32nd player in NHL history to record a hat trick in the same game that included his first career goal.

Center Joel Eriksson Ek is hoping to play Friday when the Wild hosts Anaheim at Xcel Energy Center.

Eriksson Ek has been sidelined since suffering an upper-body injury on Dec. 20 at Dallas. He practiced Tuesday at Tria Rink in St. Paul, skating on a line with wingers Marcus Foligno and Jordan Greenway, who returned to practice after spending last week in the COVID protocols.

Winger Brandon Duhaime and defenseman Alex Goligoski are still on the COVID list and while it's unclear if Goligoski will be activated in time to suit up Friday, Wild coach Dean Evason said he believes Duhaime is eligible to clear the protocols before that game.

The team also is hoping winger Kirill Kaprizov is a possibility Friday. Kaprizov didn't play Saturday in the 3-2 shootout win over Washington after getting boarded by the Bruins' Trent Frederic last Thursday in Boston. He left the game with an upper-body injury.

As for captain Jared Spurgeon and goaltender Cam Talbot, who are out with lower-body injuries, they skated together Tuesday morning.

Winger Nick Bjugstad and defenseman Jonas Brodin also are hurt, dealing with upper-body injuries.