The Wild have locked-in Clayton Stoner for the next two years. This leaves one less space for Ryan Suter.

SAINT PAUL/MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Minnesota Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has re-signed defenseman Clayton Stoner to a two-year contract extension.

Stoner, 27 (2/19/85), collected five points (1-4=5), a plus-3 rating and 54 penalty minutes (PIM) in 51 games with Minnesota this season. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound native of Port McNeill, B.C., led team defensemen and ranked third on the club in plus/minus rating and penalty minutes. Stoner was also nominated for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy by the Minnesota Chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. He recorded nine points (2-7=9) in 57 contests with the Wild in 2010-11 and ranked first on the team with a plus-5 rating and third with 96 PIM. Stoner ranked tied for third among NHL rookie defensemen in PIM and sixth in plus/minus amongst rookies that played more than 50 games. He made his NHL debut at Montreal on Dec. 17, 2009.

Stoner has totaled 16 points (3-13=16), a plus-9 rating and 170 PIM in 116 career NHL games during three seasons with Minnesota. He was selected by Minnesota in the third round (79th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.