Wild sign Justin Kirkland to one-year contract
The Minnesota Wild have agreed to terms on a one-year, two-way contract with unrestricted free agent center Justin Kirkland, according to The Athletic‘s Michael Russo.
According to Russo, Kirkland’s new contract with the Wild carries an $850,000 NHL cap hit. He’ll be paid a $500,000 salary for the time he spends with the AHL’s Iowa Wild, and will earn a guaranteed minimum of $550,000 in total.
#mnwild have signed depth forward Justin Kirkland to a one-year, two-way, $850K contract. $500K in Iowa, $550K guarantee. Wild likely signing three other two-way forwards today and a veteran NHL goalie to fill in for rehabbing Filip Gustavsson.
Kirkland, 29, split the 2025-26 season between the NHL’s Calgary Flames and the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers. The 6’3″ forward skated in 20 games with the Flames, collecting one goal and one assist; he racked up 11 goals and 22 points in 42 AHL games with the Wranglers.
The Nashville Predators originally selected Kirkland in the third round (No. 62 overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft. Upon the completion of his successful junior career with the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets, where he was coached by future Flames head coach Ryan Huska, Kirkland joined the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals for parts of three seasons.
The Predators opted not to tender Kirkland a qualifying offer as a pending RFA in 2019, opening the door for him to sign with the Flames. He spent his first three seasons in the Calgary organizations playing exclusively with the AHL’s Stockton Heat before leaving to sign with the Anaheim Ducks, with whom he finally appeared in his first seven NHL games in the 2022-23 season.
After playing the 2023-24 campaign in the Arizona Coyotes organization, Kirkland returned to the Flames as a UFA and made the team out of camp ahead of the 2024-25 season. He appeared in 21 NHL games with the club that year, scoring two goals and eight points, before being sidelined with a season-ending ACL injury.
In 50 career NHL games over parts of four seasons with the Ducks, Coyotes, and Flames, Kirkland has collected three goals and 10 points.