Overview
- The Wild announced on Thursday that they signed 25-year-old winger Maxim Shabanov to a one-year contract worth $1.6 million after the New York Islanders declined to tender a qualifying offer.
- Shabanov played 44 games for the Islanders in 2025–26, recording five goals and 18 points while averaging 13:41 of ice time and missing nearly half the season because of multiple multi-game injuries.
- Minnesota views him as an option to slot into the top nine behind Kirill Kaprizov and Matthew Boldy and to help replace departed wings such as Mats Zuccarello and Marcus Johansson.
- The signing follows Minnesota’s earlier acquisitions of Blake Coleman and Olli Määttä and leaves the Wild with roughly $795,000 in salary-cap space, making further additions unlikely without moving salary.
- Shabanov’s strong KHL scoring (48 goals and 117 points in 129 games across 2023–24 and 2024–25) provides upside if he stays healthy, but his durability this coming season will determine whether the low-cost deal pays off.