There are three times of year that makes die hard hockey fans like myself check their computer or tune into TSN as often as they can to see if their team made any transactions. Those three occasions are the NHL Entry Draft, the NHL trade deadline and the opening of free agency starting July 1st. With the trade deadline way off in the distance and the NHL Entry draft still in the rearview mirror that leaves the day that sees the most movement of team’s rosters each year.
Free agency, a place where teams take advantage of expiring contracts and attempt to fill holes in their lineup and often where you overpay to fix those deficiencies. Perhaps moreso than ever, the league’s 30 franchises are feeling the grip of bad contracts as they still seem to be learning how to operate in a salary cap system. It seems odd that 5 years after the salary cap was introduced that the league’s general managers would not have a better handle on it, especially as the salary ceiling has risen each year. During the “Lockout” of 2004-05, the salary cap was supposed to provide cost certainty and help promote competitive balance by not allowing for such huge despairities in team salaries. Yet has that really taken place? You still have some teams spending right to the cap like Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago while others spend near the salary floor like Atlanta, Nashville and Carolina which was more or less the case before the lockout. So has it really helped or have the league’s GM’s steadily gone back to their greedy irresponsible ways and now find themselves in a terrible bind? With the exception of the trading deadline, the most common place for wheeling and dealing was at the Entry Draft but this year there was only one real trade of significance that involved NHL players in the Keith Ballard deal that sent him along with Victor Oreshkovich to the Vancouver Canucks while the Florida Panthers received Michael Grabner, Steve Bernier and the Canucks 1st pick (25th Overall) in the draft. Even Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher noted just how unusual that was, as he feverishly tried working the phones on Day 1 but had no takers telling the Minneapolis Star Tribune, “it was strange, because there was a ton of communication but at the end of the day not many deals were made.” This was particularly rough news for the Wild who had hoped to be able to deal some of its uglier contracts for picks to gain a little more flexibility under the salary cap. Apparently, all of the league’s GM’s was looking for similar solutions as they attempted to deal away their ugly contracts, but no one wants to trade one problem for another. No one can expect every GM to be able to find a patsie willing to buy swampland in Florida which is really what these ugly contracts amount to.
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The salary cap for next season is said to be around $59.4 million, and the Wild currently have $46.03 million committed to 17 players for next season. While $13 million may seem like a lot of cap flexibility, when you account for a hefty raise that will be given to Guillaume Latendresse who really became the closest thing the Wild had to a go-to scoring presence after the team acquired him via a trade in the middle of last season. Minnesota may gain more cap space if Pierre-Marc Bouchard cannot return to the lineup and can be placed on Long-Term Injury status as he was for most of last season, thus allowing the team to spend up to 80% of his salary under the cap. Yet if you listen to Bouchard he seems focused on starting the 2010-11 season playing for the Wild. Toss in a few more contracts to fill out the bottom two lines as well as a contract for a backup goaltender and there is precious little to address a major need, the need for a center on their top 2 lines. Just who could the Wild be interested in to fill that role? I will offer up a few possibilities. I will focus on available unrestricted free agents as they will not force the Wild to give up any additional picks or players to acquire.
Olli Jokinen ~ 2009-10 Stats: 82GP 15G 35A = 50pts
A few years back, Jokinen was considered to be a prized free agent after being a workhorse for the Florida Panthers. A little less than two seasons later after two underwhelming performances in Calgary and New York (Rangers) he seems to be a player who is running out of gas. The 32-year old made $5.5 million last season which makes him very expensive but unlike most of the other players I am going to name he is a player who has recent experience as a 2nd line scoring option. Jokinen has been an enigmatic player throughout most of his career, and if the Wild were able to add him they should probably opt for a one-year deal, yet it is uncertain if he would accept a contract that likely would be less than what he made this season.
Saku Koivu ~ 2009-10 Stats: 71GP 19G 33A = 52pts
Last year many felt the Wild were going to add Saku Koivu to be the team’s second line center, but he shunned Minnesota despite the fact it offered a more lucrative and long-term deal than did the Anaheim Ducks. The Koivu brothers have dismissed the idea of wanting to play on a team together, but even though the 34-year old did not seem overly interested his $3.25 million cap hit from last season would be far easier to fit into the team’s limited amount of cap space than the aforementioned Olli Jokinen.
Matthew Lombardi ~ 2009-10 Stats: 78GP 19G 34A = 53pts
One player who is likely to command some attention in this weak free agency class is the speedy 27-year old centerman Matt Lombardi. Lombardi is a versatile player who finally seemed to be realizing some of his offensive potential last season. He would fit in very well to the Wild’s system but Minnesota could very well find itself out bid by teams who have far more cap flexibility.
Matt Cullen ~ 2009-10 Stats: 81GP 16G 32A = 48pts
Perhaps on the outside it may appear as though he is a homer pick, the Moorhead, Minnesota native has a lot of things that Chuck Fletcher covets in terms of speed and skill. Cullen is a shifty player who has played effectively as a power play quarterback which makes him a desirable option for the Wild. Last season, Cullen pulled in $2.8 million and will likely be do a raise after his strong play in the playoffs last season for the Senators.
Patrick O’Sullivan ~ 2009-10 Stats: 73GP 11G 23A = 34pts
Just recently placed on waivers by the Edmonton Oilers, the former Wild draft pick (56th Overall in 2003) could be an effective 2nd line center if given the right opportunity. O’Sullivan showed some success when he was with the Los Angeles Kings in a forechecking role and he could use a change of scenery after being apart for two abysmal Oilers’ teams. With one year left on his $2.388 million contract, if the Wild do not like what they see they can scrap the experiment without too much trouble.
Mike Comrie ~ 2009-10 Stats: 43GP 13G 8A = 21pts
He seems to have always played well against the Wild, haunting them multiple times throughout his career. The diminutive center has terrific hands but his effort has been inconsistent as he’s battled to stay healthy the last two seasons. Comrie has worn out his welcome in Edmonton, and at a manageable $1.25 million he is a player who fits into the limited salary structure. Comrie may just thrive playing with skilled wingers Martin Havlat and Guillaume Latendresse.
Chris Higgins ~ 2009-10 Stats: 67GP 8G 9A = 17pts
In a situation similar to that of Mike Comrie, Chris Higgins would love to simply push control, alt, delete on the 2009-10 season. It was terrible and Higgins had his worst season ever. Perhaps needing a more simplified direction, Higgins could be a quality 2nd line center as he knows as well as anyone he needs to redeem his career. He will be lucky to earn a contract much more than the $2.25 million per season deal he had last season, and that places him in the Wild’s pricerange.
Add into this complicated picture, the need to sign team captain Mikko Koivu to a long-term deal. Koivu is certainly going to also want a significant raise over the $3.7 million he is set to collect in 2010-11 after leading the team in every major statistical cateogory the last two seasons. This is the last year of Koivu’s contract, and the team will work hard to sign him to a long-term extension otherwise it has an excruciating decision to make. Wild fans know this all too well, as two years ago when then Wild GM Doug Risebrough failed to get star winger Marian Gaborik signed to a contract extension the summer before his final year. Gaborik, would injure his groin, sit out much of the season and only returning to the lineup after the trade deadline has passed and the team watched its most valuable asset in the franchise’s history walk away for nothing. That simply cannot happen again, and as blasphemous as this may seem the Wild must sign Koivu to an extension this summer or they must seek to trade him before the beginning of this season. It cannot afford the possibility of letting Koivu get injured and watching his potential trade value evaporate. Another similar situation happened in Atlanta where then Thrashers’ GM Don Waddell decided to wait until the trade deadline before dealing Ilya Kovalchuk with the logic being the longer he waits the better the deal he will recieve in return. Luckily for the Thrashers, Kovalchuk avoided injury and they got a sizeable return from the Devils in Niclas Bergfors, Johnny Oduya, controversial prospect Patrice Cormier and a 1st round pick. While I would not expect the same sort of king’s ransom for Koivu, it would be imperitive for the Wild take back a sizeable return. Most hope though the Wild will be able to reach an agreement.
Telling the league’s GM’s to be patient at the opening of free agency is like telling a compulsive gambler not to spend the $100 you just borrowed them yet that could very well be the best thing the Wild decides to do. Minnesota is no where near being a strong contender to make the playoffs let alone compete for the Stanley Cup. With that being said, it may be in the team’s best interest to just stand pat, making a minimum amount of moves and avoiding making any more long-term deals to free agents if at all possible. Chuck Fletcher already has plenty of problems to deal with, and does not need to make it any more complicated or convoluted than it already is. So while it pains me to go online and constantly check to see what moves the team makes, only to see it has done nothing but it may be in the best interest of the long-term for the Wild. I have little doubt that will make some Wild fans angry but any fan who has truly followed the team know this team is not one little fix away from turning everything around. Its in a rebuilding phase and while it will force the fans to exercise an incredible amount of mental and emotional stamina the team will probably reap the benefits of simply weathering the storm. If the team is bad, it will reap the benefit of high draft choices and it should look to sell off assets when and where possible to rebuild the structure of this organization. Be patient Wild fans, this could be a very long summer. The wise move is to expect little and be surprised if the Wild somehow put it all together like the Phoenix Coyotes or Colorado Avalanche did last season.
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