“I got a feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night, that tonight’s gonna be a good night, that tonight’s gonna be a good good night wooh hoo, Tonight’s the night night, Let’s live it up, I got my money, Let’s spend it up, go out and smash it, let go o’ my guard, Jump off that sofa, Let’s get…get up” these are the lyrics to the Black Eyed Peas song, I Gotta Feeling and seemed to fit the attitude of many of the NHL’s 30 teams on the day where you see the greatest level of roster changeover, the opening of free agency.
Ever have a Christmas or birthday were you really hoping for some big gift that really was going to give you a big rush and then felt the numbing disappointment of some mundane present that did not really feel like a gift at all? In the case of the opening of free agency on July 1st, most fans across the league look forward to that date like some gift giving holiday, where you hope to wake up and find all sorts of great gifts and new personnel to be excited about. Yet, have you ever had one of these events where you either knew what you were getting ahead of time or knew that little or nothing all that great was going to happen? Its a big buzzkill, and that unfortunately is what Wild fans, like myself who realized the team just simply did not have a lot of space to work with found when the calendar turned to July 1 to what really was almost a non-event for the franchise. What makes the non-event tougher to deal with is the sight of so many of your peers and rivals making all kinds of deals you only wish you could yourself. Pittsburgh especially made some significant splashes adding ex-Wild prospect who was dealt foolishly in an ill-advised trade in Zbynek Michalek as well as landing coveted two-way defenseman and Elk River, Minnesota-native Paul Martin to a $25 million, 5-year deal. Or the arch-rival Vancouver Canucks who added defenseman Dan Hamhuis (6 years at $4.5 million per season) and veteran center Danny Malhotra (3 years at $2.5 million per season) as well as Jeff Tambellini (1 year at an undisclosed contract) and fellow divisional opponent Calgary brought back Olli Jokinen (2 years at $3 million per season) and Alex Tanguay (1 year at $1.7 million). Throughout most of the day it appeared as though the Wild were going to be left out of the free agent frenzy.
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If you remember from earlier in the article I said the Wild were almost quiet on the opening day of free agency. Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher had other plans adding center, Matt Cullen in a 3-year, $10.5 million deal and grinding left winger Eric Nystrom in a 3-year, $4.2 million deal late in the day. Cullen, the Moorhead, Minnesota native is coming off a strong end to his season after splitting the year between Carolina and Ottawa respectively putting up modest regular season numbers of 16 goals and 32 assists in 81 games. The former St. Cloud State star brings good speed and versatility to the Wild as he can fill a variety of different roles including power play quarterback which has been a sore spot ever since Brian Rolston left the team at the end of the 2008-09 season. After being dealt to Ottawa at the trade deadline, Cullen provided a nice offensive boost to the Senators, especially in the post season where he tallied 3 goals and 8 points in 6 games before they were eliminated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The 33-year old will no doubt be given a good shot to play as 2nd line center, working with a line that includes recently re-signed sniper Guillaume Latendresse (2 years at $2.5 million per season) and Martin Havlat. It has been a while since Cullen has notched over 50 points in a season but he can be counted on to score at least 40-45 points. The Wild are likely going to expect more than that as he will be getting more ice time than he has on his previous teams the last few seasons, and the quality of his linemates are such that such an expectation is hardly unrealistic. Latendresse will be expected to come close to equalling his production last year, but on the otherhand Havlat needs to deliver much more than the 18 goals and 54 points he had last year. No more excuses about not having a quality centerman to work with, Havlat needs to justify his $5 million a season salary and expecting him to chip in at least 20 goals per season is hardly unfair.
The Wild also added the fiesty left winger, Eric Nystrom. Nystrom, originally drafted by the Calgary Flames 10th Overall in 2002 he never quite was able to be what his dad, Bob Nystrom did as star for the New York Islanders during their dynasty years of the early 1980’s. While the offense has not really been a huge part of Nystrom’s game, the ability to be miserable to play against, as he is an excellent forechecker who thrives playing a physical game. An excellent penalty killer, Nystrom denies time and space with the puck and his relentless style can quickly get underneath the opponents skin. His modest 2009-10 totals of 11 goals, 19 points and 54 penalty minutes make him an instant candidate for the 3rd or 4th line. What you may not know about the American-born (Syosset, New York) winger is that he can do a near perfect impression of the infamous Ned Braden strip-tease scene from cult classic hockey movie Slap Shot. While working his way up to the NHL playing for Calgary’s American Hockey League affiliate the Quad City Flames he performed his impression for charity earning $30,000 to help provide flu shots for schools in the Quad City area. I remember hearing about this during CBC’s After Hours program, and they showed a few clips of the strip tease and I must say its pretty impressive and gives a great homage to the original. You can judge Nystrom’s impression for yourself on the link provided below.
The Wild always love a good gimmick and always like to parade their generosity and perhaps they could convince Eric Nystrom to give it another try. It would hardly be surprising if they did, considering this is the same team which brought ‘mini Herb Brooks’ from his viral YouTube video, Josh Sacco to deliver the traditional “Let’s Play Hockey” cheer before a Wild game last season. Just in case you forgot who this kid was, watch the video provided in the link below.
Either way I must say I really like the addition of Cullen and Nystrom to the Wild’s lineup. Cullen gives Minnesota a skilled 2nd line center that it has desperately needed for years, and Nystrom gives the Wild another effective grinding winger who can play effectively on the penalty kill. Both players have the speed to play Minnesota’s up-tempo system and bring elements the Wild need more of in terms of skill and grit. Chuck Fletcher did a good job of not overpaying or giving up too long of a contract to make it become another problem. Certainly the organization should still look to shed some salary if it can but overall I think this was a successful expenditure of the cap space it had at its disposal. We’ll see how it all pans out for the Wild, but both players fit with what the team is trying to do to re-shape its identity.
The Wild currently have $54.2 million committed to 20 players for the 2010-11 season giving them about $5 million left in cap space as the salary cap is expected to go up to $59.2 million. The obvious possible variable to this is the status of Pierre-Marc Bouchard who is still struggling with post-concussion symptoms that are still making it miserable for him to work out; something he wasn’t able to do at all until late in the spring. If Bouchard is unable to play, and the Wild can place him on Long Term Injury status that means almost another $4 million comes off the books that the Wild would be able to spend. So far Bouchard has stated he feels he’ll be back next season but his recovery seems to be in its earliest stages and it is hard to believe he’ll be ready to go by September when training camp opens. There are still a few high profile free agents left out there and the Wild still have a few roster spots to solidify.
While Wild fans are likely celebrating and discussing the meaning of its new arrivals it also comes with some departures as well. The franchise’s two biggest players in the literal sense will no longer be donning Wild sweaters next season as Derek Boogaard signed a 4 year deal with the New York Rangers that will pay him a gawdy $1.65 million per season and defenseman John Scott signed an undisclosed 1-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks. Many Wild fans will be very unhappy their favorite enforcer Boogaard was allowed to leave, but let’s face the facts. He was not worth the $1.25 million per season the Wild were paying him as so few people dared to fight the hulking winger (just four fights in 2009-10) and his inability to do much more than fight really limited his overall effectiveness most nights. It is surprising another team would pay him that much more and it will be interesting if the Rangers face the same problem that the way to eliminate the ‘Boogeyman’ from having an impact on a game is simply not answer his challenges and force the team to sit him on the bench (or the press box as a healthy scratch) in favor of more versatile skaters. In an interview with Wild.com‘s Kevin Falness, Derek Boogaard thanked the fans of the State of Hockey for their steadfastness and their hospitality in his 5 seasons with the Wild.
http://wild.nhl.com/club/podcastplayer.htm?pid=25&iid=23652
Former Wild defenseman Kurtis Foster took advantage of a terrific season with the Tampa Bay Lightning and parlayed that into a 2-year, $1.8 million per season deal with the Edmonton Oilers. The future remains uncertain for the rest of the Wild’s list of unrestricted free agents which includes; Owen Nolan, Andrew Ebbett and Shane Hnidy. It is unclear whether the Wild will attempt to re-sign any of these players but if anyone has the best shot it has to be veteran Owen Nolan. Nolan has received good reviews from the coaching staff for his leadership both on and off the ice and with and this team could use another strong veteran voice but we shall see over the next few days. I should probably revise my statement about being disappointed over the team doing little in free agency this summer. Perhaps its more like the movie a Christmas Story where the lead character Ralphie opens up all the gifts under the tree, and becomes disappointed at the endless boxes of mundane items like socks and clothes, as well as an embarassing pink bunny costume from his aunt. Dejected and disillusioned for a few moments only to finally get one last surprise gift that was cleverly hidden revealing his prized Red Rider BB Gun. Hopefully these surprises don’t nearly shoot the Wild’s eye out!
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