Wild Lock Up Michael McCarron After His Late-Season Spark

Minnesota is rewarding Michael McCarron with a six-year deal after his midseason arrival made enough noise to matter. That is a real commitment, not a little thank-you note, and it tells you the Wild saw something in his game they wanted to keep around. Long-term deals for depth centers are never flashy, but they usually reveal what a team thinks it needs when the games get tight. The Wild are betting this was more than a nice stretch run.