ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Wild signed right wings Mats Zuccarello and Marcus Foligno to contract extensions Friday, further solidifying their forward group beyond this season.

Zuccarello got a two-year, $8.25 million extension. Foligno got a four-year, $16 million extension.

Zuccarello, 36, has three 20-goal seasons in 13 years in the NHL, two of them with the Wild over the last two seasons. He had 22 goals and a team-leading 45 assists in 2022-23 while averaging a career-high 20:12 of average ice time per game. The Norway native is a close friend and linemate of star Kirill Kaprizov and is entering his fifth year with the Wild.

Zuccarello began his career with the New York Rangers. He signed a five-year, $30 million deal with Minnesota on July 1, 2019.

The deals for Zuccarello and Foligno put eight of the Wild’s top nine forwards under contract through at least next season. Ryan Hartman, the usual center between Kaprizov and Zuccarello, is due to become a free agent next summer.

Foligno, 32, is an alternate captain and had seven goals and 14 assists with a team-high 237 hits last season. He was acquired by the Wild on June 30, 2017, in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres. He signed a three-year, $9.3 million contract extension Jan. 12, 2021.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

The Associated Press