Best buds: Pavol Demitra and Marian Gaborik united with Minnesota
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Pavol Demitra and Marian Gaborik have always dreamed about playing together in the NHL.
The fellow Slovaks saw the results when they teamed up, both for Dukla Trencin in the Slovak Extraliga and for the Slovakian Olympic team in Turin, Italy, where they teamed with Atlanta's Marian Hossa to form an electrifying line.
"We've always been talking about it," Demitra said.
But Demitra never really thought that it would happen in the United States. That was before the Minnesota Wild traded for the Los Angeles Kings centre on draft night.
The move united Demitra with Wild winger Gaborik, who has known Demitra since he started playing for Dukla Trencin as a teenager.
"We are best buddies," Demitra said Tuesday in a conference call. "It's the first time I've had a chance to play with somebody like that. It's going to be awesome."
The move immediately raised eyebrows across the league and in the Twin Cities, where fans have been getting impatient with the team's build-from-within approach.
Demitra represents an instant upgrade, the kind of player who will immediately inject some much-needed offence into the defensive-minded Wild. Despite missing 24 games with eye and leg injuries last season with the Kings, Demitra scored 25 goals and 62 points in 58 games.
"The Wild made a great step for the team to step it up a bit," said Gaborik, one of the best young players in the NHL. "I'm very happy about that, especially that it's Pavol."
That Gaborik is happy is significant in its own right. The 24-year-old is a restricted free agent and plans to file for salary arbitration next month. Hearings are held between July 20 and Aug. 4. If they can't work out a deal by then, Gaborik will take a one-year contract into the 2006-07 season.
Adding his friend, and a highly skilled one at that, could show Gaborik that the Wild are committed to building around their young star.
If that doesn't work, they just might turn Demitra loose on the negotiations.
"He better sign for a long time," Demitra said playfully.
Gaborik laughed when told of Demitra's comment.
"We'll see what happens," Gaborik said diplomatically.
Wild general manager Doug Risebrough plans to resume negotiations with Gaborik's agent, Ron Salcer, sometime after July 1.
Whether he signs this summer or not, trading a top prospect in Patrick O'Sullivan and the No. 17 draft pick to the Kings for the 31-year-old Demitra shows the Wild's rabid fan base that the team is finally committed to winning now, not later.
Coach Jacques Lemaire said he plans to team the two countrymen on one line, hoping Demitra will help Gaborik take the next step to becoming an elite player and the Wild return to the playoffs.
"From the first time I saw him, I could tell he was special," Demitra said of Gaborik. "We can be so dangerous on the ice and we can help the team win games. With his skill, I can find him most of the time and he can score a lot of goals."
OK, it took a year longer than expected for the Minnesota Wild to finally grasp the fact in the new salary cap world, its checkbook can carry just as much muscle and influence as the Red Wings, Rangers and Maple Leafs.
It took fans – the same loyal ones who had amazingly sold out all 228 home games in franchise history – threatening to drop season tickets.
It took media scrutiny, highlighted by its owner being named ‘Turkey of the Year’ by the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
It took star Marian Gaborik executing his most daunting power play to date: warning very publicly that he’d bail next summer as a 25-year-old free agent if there wasn’t a true commitment to winning shown this summer.
But still, even though the Wild hinted the team’s “fiscally responsible” days are over, nobody could have forecasted the astronomical spending spree usually conservative Doug Risebrough and Co. would embark on this summer.
When fans learned last month the salary cap minimum would rise from $21.5 million to $28 million, folks here were ready to party.
That measly fact alone meant the Wild would have to spend more, simply to reach the floor.
Little did anyone know that after five years of shopping at Target, the discount-loving Wild would upgrade to Saks Fifth Avenue. The team wildly splashed around its AmEx card this summer and has astonishingly inched oh-so-close to the $44 million ceiling ($41.84 million to be exact) after spending a league-low $25 million last season.
“I know people want to make a big deal, ‘Wow, this is different than the Wild,’ but the choice last year was to figure out what our younger guys can do and react to it,” said Risebrough, the only GM in team history, adding he wasn’t responding to increasing pressure, but simply following the natural evolution of his expansion plan.“You’re not seeing a change in the plan. You’re seeing a continuation of the plan.”
Since June 24, when the Wild dropped a bombshell at the draft by trading a first round pick and prospect for proven scorer Pavol Demitra, the Wild has handed out more than $65 million in long-term contracts.
It gave smooth-skating free agent defenseman Kim Johnsson the richest deal in franchise history (three years, $19.4 million). It gave gritty goal-scorer and hometown boy Mark Parrish the longest deal in franchise history (five years). It brought in grizzled blueliner Keith Carney ($2.1 million per season).
And, most importantly, it solved the Gaborik dispute by re-signing its all-time leading scorer to a deal paying him $6.33 million per season.
“For five or six years I’ve been here, stuff like that never happens with the Wild,” said Gaborik, who scored a career-high 38 goals last season despite missing 17 games with injury. “It’s good to see them do these moves. It’s good for the team, and also they’re showing they want to win.”
There’s no doubt the five-year honeymoon, one where expectations were fueled with a stunning run to the Western Conference final in 2003, had ended. Fans and media expected more. So did Gaborik.
“I’m tired of going back home after April 15 and watching the playoffs on TV and through the Internet,” said the rising star.
Still, it’s way too premature to plan any parade routes down the streets of St. Paul.
A big theme of next season will be whether defense-minded coach Jacques Lemaire allows Demitra and Gaborik to run-and-gun like they do on the international stage.
And, in this conference, making the playoffs is not automatic, although Gaborik is confident.
“I think this makes us a playoff contender,” he predicted.
– Michael Russo covers the NHL for the Minneapolis Star Tribune
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Minnesota Wild have always put defence first, but with the trio of Keith Carney, Kim Johnsson and Petteri Nummelin joining the club, the defence is expected to contribute more offensively this season.
Carney is known as a tough, stay-at-home defenceman who can play a lot of minutes; Johnsson is a strong puck handler who can lead a team's transition and quarterback the power play; and Nummelin brings experience and scoring punch from Europe.
"This might be the best squad we've ever had defensively and offensively. What we might have been lacking in the past, our all-around game defensively is going to be better," goaltender Manny Fernandez said after Saturday's practice at Parade Ice Garden.
Last year, the Wild ranked 23rd in scoring from the blue-line. So in the off-season, president/general manager Doug Risebrough said the team looked for "smart hockey players that can play both ways."
Thursday, August 24, 2006It gave smooth-skating free agent defenseman Kim Johnsson the richest deal in franchise history (three years, $19.4 million). It gave gritty goal-scorer and hometown boy Mark Parrish the longest deal in franchise history (five years). It brought in grizzled blueliner Keith Carney ($2.1 million per season).– Michael Russo covers the NHL for the Minneapolis Star Tribune
That will be huge, especially with the Demitra deal. Gaborik did have a point though. The team took it's time, and I guess he wants another chance in the playoffs (he did good when he got a chance).
ST. PAUL (AP) -- The Minnesota Wild reduced their training camp roster to 28 players Monday, sending five skaters to their top minor league affiliate.
Center Jason Morgan, left wing Peter Olvecky, left wing Benoit Pouliot, defenseman Erik Reitz and right wing Roman Voloshenko were assigned to the Houston Aeros of the AHL.
(Sports Network) - The Minnesota Wild were not among the Western Conference playoff participants to emerge from the Northwest Division last season.
However, they may very well have been the champions in the five-team loop's race to improve in time for the 2006-07 opener.
The Wild re-signed their marquee player, standout forward Marian Gaborik, to a three-year deal following his 38-goal, 28-assist performance last season, and complemented the 24-year-old right wing with the acquisition of veteran scorer Pavol Demitra.
The 31-year-old Demitra, who once scored 35 and 36 goals in consecutive seasons for the St. Louis Blues, netted 25 in just 58 games with the Los Angeles Kings last year while fighting an array of injuries that included a nasal fracture suffered during the Olympics.
The addition of Demitra, which cost the Wild the services of minor-league prospect Patrick O'Sullivan, should immediately augment an anemic offensive unit that was 25th in the league in goal scoring last season.
Minnesota exercised a contract option on center Brian Rolston, meaning the former 1991 first-round draft pick is signed through the end of next season. The 33-year-old had his best campaign as a pro in 2005-06, scoring a team-high 79 points (34 goals, 45 assists) in his first season with the Wild.
Also staying put was emerging forward Pierre-Marc Bouchard, a speedy 22-year- old center who registered personal bests with 17 goals and 42 assists in 80 games last season. The assist total was second high on the team behind Rolston, a veteran of 818 NHL games.
Bouchard, a 5-foot-10, 162-pounder, signed a one-year contract.
Minnesota helped itself on the defensive end as well, signing 14-year veteran Keith Carney to a multi-year deal after he'd spent last season splitting time between Anaheim and Vancouver.
The 36-year-old has played 877 games in the league, scoring 40 goals and adding 160 assists.
Other defensive transactions included the plucking of ex-Philadelphia standout Kim Johnsson, who missed 31 games last season due to post-concussion syndrome; and the re-upping of veterans Brent Burns and Kurtis Foster.
FORWARDS - The arrival of Demitra gives the Wild a potent right side along with Gaborik and veteran Mark Parrish, who came over as a free agent after scoring 29 goals with the Kings and New York Islanders last season. The 29- year-old, a Minnesota native, had a career-best 30 goals with the Islanders in 2001-02.
Rolston, Bouchard and Wes Walz man center ice for Minnesota. Walz, now 36, scored 19 goals and added 18 assists while registering a plus-7 for the team last season. Rounding out the options in the middle are veteran Todd White (19 goals last season) and youngster Mikko Koivu, who played 64 games as a rookie.
A dearth of options at left wing may lead to some personnel shifting.
The current roster includes mammoth enforcer Derek Boorgaard, a 6-7, 250- pounder who racked up 158 penalty minutes last season. Pascal Dupuis scored 10 goals and was a minus-10, a dramatic departure from a 2002-03 season in which he scored 20 goals and was a plus-17.
Also on hand is 24-year-old Stephane Veilleux, who had 16 points and was a minus-13 in limited duty in 2005-06.
DEFENSE - Nick Schultz is back on defense after ending last season on the Wild's first unit. The acquisitions of Carney and Johnsson will add talent and depth, as do the returns of Foster and Martin Skoula.
Minnesota lost Daniel Tjarnqvist and Filip Kuba, it's No. 2 and 3 blue-liners, to free agency. Also gone are free-agent departee Andrei Zyuzin and veteran Andrei Nazarov, who retired.
GOALTENDING - Manny Fernandez won a battle with Dwayne Roloson for the Wild's No. 1 netminding spot last season, then won a career-best 30 games while posting a 2.29 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. Roloson exited at the trade deadline and won 12 playoff games with the Edmonton Oilers before a knee injury ended his season in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
The back-up's job this year remains a question mark. Josh Harding, a 22-year- old Saskatchewan native, is the leading contender but played just three games last season in the NHL but was 29-8 with the Houston Aeros in the minors.
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Mikko Koivu scored two goals to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night.
Martin Skoula and Brian Rolston also scored for the Wild. Barret Jackman and Lee Stempniak tallied for St. Louis.
The Blues led 1-0 after one period on Jackman's goal, which came at 17:04 in the first period. But Skoula tied it when he beat Blues goalie Manny Legace with a wrist shot 5:34 into the second period.
The battle for the backup goaltending job stirred some last-minute drama Tuesday as the Wild finished training camp and set their 22-man regular-season roster.
European veteran Niklas Backstrom earned the chance to ride shotgun with Manny Fernandez when hot prospect Josh Harding was reassigned to the minor league Houston Aeros.
Bad luck and poor timing with a groin injury doomed Harding in his bid to be introduced as the No. 2 goalie when the Wild open the season Thursday night against the Colorado Avalanche at the Xcel Energy Center.
The demotion to the American Hockey League shocked and disappointed Harding. The 22-year-old met with general manager Doug Risebrough shortly after the team's faceoff luncheon with the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce.
Having the league's lowest payroll, $25 million, last season gave the Wild great flexibility this summer to spend money, join the affluent and quite possibly vault itself into playoff contention. Suddenly, top scorer Marian Gaborik is surrounded by a load of talent.
THE STAR MARIAN GABORIK • AGE 24
Contract: Three years averaging $6.33 million per season.
Of note: Wild's all-time leader in virtually every offensive category.
Comment: Electrifying scorer and potential superstar could make last year's 38-goal campaign seem modest when this year's done.
Articles for 06/07 Season
Best buds: Pavol Demitra and Marian Gaborik united with Minnesota
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Opinion: Minnesota Goes On 'wild' Spending Spree
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