Wild sign trio of players

Jul 3, 2007, 22:25 GMT

St. Paul, MN - The Minnesota Wild signed center Eric Belanger to a multi-year contract and also signed center Wes Walz and goaltender Nolan Schaefer on Tuesday. No further terms of the deals were disclosed.

Belanger split time last season between Carolina and Atlanta and in 80 games tallied 17 goals and 18 assists.

In six seasons in the NHL, all but one with Los Angeles, he has appeared in 403 games and scored 80 goals and added 105 assists.

'Eric is a strong two-way center who can score, play a responsible game and bring consistent energy at both ends of the rink,' said Wild general manager Doug Risebrough.

Walz, who has been with Minnesota since the team came into the league in the 2000-01 season, was a free agent, but re-signed with the team that gave him a second chance in the NHL.

He started his career in Boston during the 1989-90 season and also played for the Flyers, Flames and Red Wings, but after the 1995-96 season played in Europe before being picked up by the team prior to the start of the 2000-01 season.

He is the franchise leader in games played (427) and ranks second in points with 81 goals and 178 assists.

In 596 career NHL games he has 108 goals and 148 assists.

Playing for Worcester, Hershey and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League last season, Schaefer went 14-16-3 with a 2.64 goals-against average and one shutout in 34 games.

'Nolan is a young goaltender with a strong record in the minor leagues and some experience in the NHL and has great potential to become a full-time NHL goaltender,' said Minnesota assistant general manager Tom Lynn said.

The 27-year-old appeared in seven games with San Jose in 2005-06 and posted a 5-1-0 record with a 1.88 goals-against average and one shutout. During that run, he became the first Sharks' goaltender to begin his career with five consecutive wins.

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