Wild trade Kahkonen, pick to Sharks for Middleton

The Minnesota Wild dealt goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen and a fifth-round draft pick in this year's draft to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenseman Jacob Middleton, the Sharks announced Monday.

The Wild landed Marc-Andre Fleury from the Chicago Blackhawks shortly beforehand.

Kahkonen, who was Cam Talbot's backup, is 12-8-3 with a .910 save percentage over 25 games in 2021-22. The Finnish netminder is an arbitration-eligible pending restricted free agent whose contract carries a $725,000 cap hit, according to CapFriendly.

The 25-year-old is in his third NHL season, all of which he spent with the Wild, who drafted him 109th overall in 2014.

Middleton is a capable defensive defenseman who's produced nine points while averaging 19:03 of ice time across 45 contests during this campaign. The 26-year-old is also an arbitration-eligible pending RFA with a cap hit identical to Kahkonen's.

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