A source who is close to the Minnesota Wild told Sports Headliners he will be surprised if the team doesn’t sign Marian Gaborik before Christmas and that there’s a “25 percent” chance that Jacques Lemaire will not return as coach.
The source described Gaborik as one of the NHL’s “10 best forwards” and said it should be the organization’s top priority to sign him to a new contract before he becomes an unrestricted free agent next year. Referring to Gaborik as “the face of the franchise,” the source said re-signing him can either help continue the Wild’s “honeymoon” with the fans or at least assist in preserving the team’s popularity.
He thinks Gaborik has mixed feelings about staying here. First, there’s a comfort level having been with the organization for eight years. Second, playing before capacity crowds and perhaps the most knowledgeable fans in the NHL offers a lot of adoration. But Lemaire’s emphasis on defense and the prospect of playing in the more wide open Eastern Conference (he might score 60 goals) may tempt Gaborik to move east. The 26-year-old forward knows his next contract will bring huge compensation and security, perhaps the most he will ever have.
While Gaborik and his advisors test his worth in the NHL marketplace in the coming months, the source suggested that the Wild can use his poor 2008 playoff performance of producing just one assist as a negotiating point. Although Gaborik had regular season career highs in goals, assists and points, he didn’t even come close to producing the sort of playoff that would have further boosted his attractiveness to other teams and potential future compensation.
It’s the source’s assumption the more time that passes, the less likely it will be Gaborik re-signs here. Eventually lose him and it will spark similarities to when the Twins made a last minute trade of Johan Santana. Not good for honeymoon stability.
As for Lemaire, 62, he’s the only head coach in franchise history and on record as saying he’s not sure about a return. The source said Lemaires was clearly frustrated at times last season with his team’s play. “He has rapport with the younger guys in showing them his defensive system,” he said. “He has a harder time selling that defensive style to the older guys.”
What happened to the Wild in the playoff series they lost to Colorado? “There were two factors,” the source said. “First, Jose Theodore, the Colorado goalie, was markedly better than the Wild’s Niklas Backstrom.
“Second, the playing time of (defensemen) Kim Johnsson, Martin Skoula, and Brent Burns increased by about five minutes more per game from the regular season to the playoffs. By the time they got to game six in the playoffs, playing in the high altitude of Denver, they were tired out.”