Nick Bjugstad gets new start, goes home to Minnesota Wild

For years, it was rumored Nick Bjugstad was coveted by the Minnesota Wild and on Friday, the former Gopher and Minnesota Mr. Hockey winner did indeed go home again.

Bjugstad’s NHL career will get a new start in the place it all began as the former Florida Panthers center was traded from Pittsburgh to the Wild.

The price tag, for the Wild, was not steep: Minnesota gave up a 2021 seventh-round pick for the former U-Minnesota captain.

Bjugstad’s career has been hampered by injuries as he went from being one of the Panthers’ core players to being, basically, a salary cap dump by Dale Tallon during the 2018-19 season.