ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Wild signed forward Vinni Lettieri to a two-year, two-way contract on Saturday, bringing the grandson of hockey great Lou Nanne back to his home state.
The salary-cap-crunched Wild made only a couple of minor moves after NHL free agency opened, also signing forward Jake Lucchini to a one-year, two-way contract.
But the transaction was plenty significant for the Lettieri and Nanne families. The 28-year-old Lettieri, who will make $750,000 in the NHL and $550,000 in the AHL, spent most of last season with Boston's minor-league affiliate. He had 23 goals and 26 assists in 48 games for Providence.
The native of Excelsior, Minnesota, can play center or wing. He has 116 goals and 113 assists in 267 career AHL games and seven goals and 11 assists in 83 career NHL games. Lettieri originally signed with the New York Rangers as an undrafted free agent before latching on with Anaheim.
Lettieri played four years of college hockey at Minnesota, helping the Gophers win four consecutive Big Ten regular season championships with 37 goals and 46 assists over 149 games.
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