Minnesota Wild: The second most exciting time of the year

#490241189 / gettyimages.com

Tomorrow is one of the most exciting times of the year. Starting at 11:00 A.M. Central, the 2014 NHL free agent signing period begins. I like many other Wild fans, are excited to see who the Minnesota Wild end up signing. Will there be some former WCHA players calling Saint Paul, MN home? Looks like the Wild aren't looking for long term commitments, either.

Chad Graff, Pioneer Press - Thomas Vanek, 30, is a pure scorer, the type the Wild lacked last season when they finished 24th in goals scored, netting 2.43 per game.

Matt Niskanen, 27, is coming off the best season of his career, having scored 10 goals and recorded 36 assists and a team-best plus-33 rating for the Penguins. He would instantly upgrade the Wild's defense.

But at what cost?

That's what Fletcher is trying to determine in the final days before free agency begins.

With Vanek and Niskanen interested in hearing the Wild's pitch, Fletcher's decision on the two free agents ultimately might be defined more by years than price.

Related articles

• Minnesota WIld: Free Agency Pondering
• Wild Kicking the Tires on Jarome Iginla

Former UND forward Corban Knight to test free agent market.

Corban Knight is headed for free agency. “@Lowetide_: Jason Gregor with a story about a center with size. Hmmm. http://t.co/qaVktgAsIE”
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDMHockey) June 17, 2013

There has been some speculation on-line this summer where the former Hobey Baker Memorial Candidate might end up. It's beginning to sound like it might be the Edmonton Oilers organization.

Jason Gregor, Edmonton Journal - So why didn’t the Panthers sign the resident of High River?

“After my season finished, we had talks with Florida and negotiations took place, but it turned out it wasn’t going to work out for both parties. We told Florida we were going to wait until free agency (Aug. 15) or a trade,” explained Knight.

The Panthers have drafted Jonathon Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck, Nick Bjugstad and Quinton Howden in the past three years, and they want to give them a shot. After speaking with the Panthers and looking at their depth chart Knight and his agent felt it was in his best interest to test the free-agent market.

Three teams have contacted the Panthers about acquiring Knight, and the Oilers are one of them, according to my sources. Will they sign another top college free agent two years in a row?

Is Knight ready to play in the NHL this season?

“To be honest, four years ago and even two years ago I would tell you there was no chance that I was ready to step into professional hockey, and more specifically the NHL,” said Knight.

“However, with my development at UND I was able to get stronger and more physically mature, and I’ve taken big steps improving my foot speed. Obviously, I have a lot of respect for the NHL and the guys playing there, it is the best league in the world. However, I think if I was able to come into a training camp, have a good camp and get some lucky breaks, I’d like to think I’d have a chance to crack an opening-day roster.”

How much is Burrows worth?

Vancouver Canucks forward Alexandre Burrows has played in 522 games and scored (139g-131a—270 pts) in 7 ½ seasons in the NHL, you have to think that Burroows is due a pretty big raise.

According to Cap Geek Burrows is making 2 million dollars a year – if we compare Ryan Kessler and Burrows – Kessler is making 5 million dollars a year. Just for comparison sake Kessler has played in 561 NHL games and scored (153g-184a—337pts).

You have to think that Burrows who plays with the Sedin twins on the first line makes 2 million dollars a year and is probably set to get a big raise. First, you have to wonder if the current CBA negotiations are going to affect Burrows contract negotiations, I would think not. No one else has shown fiscal restraint when it comes to free agents signings and players contract extensions, during the current labor negotiations.

Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun --- Assistant general manager Laurence Gilman confirmed Friday that he has had recent discussions with Burrows' agent, Paul Corbeil.

"We have had preliminary discussions about extending Alex's contract," Gilman said. "But beyond that it's not our policy to discuss ongoing negotiations."

Burrows is set to enter the final year of a four-year contract that pays him $2 million a season.

He has proved to be a bargain at that price. Playing mainly with the Sedin twins, Burrows has had four straight seasons of 25 or more goals. He scored 28 goals and had 52 points for the Canucks last season. The 31-year-old had his best season in 2009-10 when he had 35 goals and 67 points, both career highs.

"Alex is an important player on our team, both on the ice and in our dressing room," Gilman said. "And if we can get him signed to a long-term deal that keeps him with us for a number of years it would be a very good thing."

Burrows' numbers obviously have him in line for a significant raise. But like so many other of his teammates before him, Burrows will be expected to sign for less than he might command on the open market if he was to become an unrestricted free agent next July 1.

CBA musings

I have been trying to make heads or tails of the new CBA proposal by the NHL owners and let me just say that I have a bad feeling that it could be a long drawn out fight. We should be very worried about the NHL season starting on time – my gut feeling – I am going to predict that the season is delayed until at least November or December.

Jonathan Willis, edmontonjournal.com --- If the NHL gets its way on some of its demands – particularly it’s insistence that players sign five-year deals capped at the rookie maximum – that trickle will expand. To use an Oilers’ example, why would Nail Yakupov be willing to sign for five years on a contract with a base salary of less than $1 million when he could expect to make much more money much sooner in Russia? Particularly if, upon the completion of his five-year entry-level NHL deal, he could look forward to five more years of restricted free agency? Even if he were willing to do so, it seems likely that future drafts would see European players increasingly consider the Kontinental Hockey League as a viable option.

Another interesting wrinkle is the NHL/KHL memorandum of understanding. As things stand, the KHL respects NHL contracts, not poaching talent on deals, and the NHL does likewise. If, however, the NHL starts kneecapping its teams’ ability to compete financially with the KHL, the incentive of the Russian league to respect NHL rules would undoubtedly be greatly reduced.

The possibility exists that the league owners don’t care. What they’re asking for is a huge spike in the amount of money they get to take home, massive restrictions on the negotiating power of individual players, and a much longer time period before talented youngsters start earning big money. With the possibility of huge spikes in take-home money and greater certainty that drafted players will stay in the system for the long haul, an exodus of European talent back to Europe may not bother them in the least.

Initially; after perusing some of the proposals that the owners put forth – I decided that I don’t like the idea of extending entry level deals from three to five years. Why? There is no reason to do that. A player after playing in the NHL for three season should have the ability to get a substantial raise if he has been successful. All that is going to do is steer top European players to the KHL instead of the NHL. I wonder if the Minnesota Wild would miss out on a player like Mikael Granlund?

Also, I don’t think the players are going to take a big cut in pay from the owners especially after some of the ridiculous free agent contracts that have been signed this free agent signing period. Donald Fehr is on record as saying that player’s roll backs are not going to happen on his watch.

Just for comparison purposes the NFL and NBA players are making 47 and 50 percent of their leagues revenues. So it will be interesting to see what the NHL players agree to, I wonder if they would go very far below 50 percent.

By comparison, during labour disputes in the past year, players in the NFL and NBA agreed to revenue shares of roughly 47 percent and 50 percent, respectively. [thespec.com]

Based on the fact that the NHL made 3.3 billion last season – I don’t have a lot of empathy for the owners.

I also think that you might want to plan to do something else during the months of October and November – don’t plan on watching the NHL – because this disagreement is going to take a while if the owners don’t come down off their high horse.

Suter's agent responds to critics of his client

MLIVE.COM

Looks like Ryan Suter ‘s agent Neil Sheehy has seen and heard enough – Neil does have a point – if we were in the same situation we wouldn’t be rushing through these decisions.

NHL.COM --- Ryan Suter and Zach Parise are in Day 3 of NHL free agency with some wondering why they haven't made a decision on where to play.

Suter's agent, Neil Sheehy, has heard enough. He tells The Associated Press: "When a young man is asked to commit for 13 years, why is it considered extraordinary to take a few days to make a decision?. A deal will happen when it happens."

Parise told reporters on Monday that he was getting closer to a decision, saying he hadn't set deadlines.

The two free agents are both 27.

Summer dreaming

It's 90 degrees today and I am wondering like many other hockey fans - where is Zach Parise going to sign and for how much? Zach's decision on where he is going to sign, isn't going to happen today, according to Michael Russo.  Also, it sounds like the Penguins are Zach's front-runner, I suppose none of us should be shocked with that because they cleared a bunch of cap space. If you're a Wild fan I am sure you're hoping that Parise changes his mind.

 Sounds like free agent players like Jason Garrison, Florida and  Matt Carle, Philadelphia are also going to wait and see where Ryan Suter, Nashville goes before they make their decisions as well.
 

Where's Zach Parise going - Is it The L.A. Kings?

English: Zach Parise (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So it's begins - the push by 29 NHL teams to convince former Fighting Sioux forward and current Devils star Zach Parise to sign a multi year, multi million dollar contract.

Parise is soon to be unrestricted free agent and is going to draw a lot of interest from many teams. This question is how much cap space to the Los Angeles Kings actually have? According to Cap Geek, the L.A. Kings have four guys (Mike Richards, Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter and Drew Doughty) locked up in about 24 million dollars in salary.

Steve Simmons,Toronto Sun --- Up next for the Los Angeles Kings: First, a parade. Then, the pursuit of free agent Zach Parise come July 1.

These Kings have no intention of winning just one Stanley Cup. They want more. And they are not in any kind of salary cap conundrum, the way past winners have found themselves . They won’t have to dish off quality players - or any players really - the way the Chicago Blackhawks did after winning two years ago.

And while they won’t say so because they can’t legally say so, the captain of the New Jersey Devils is No. 1 on their off-season shopping list.

They want Parise, as do many teams, and they want him badly.

Parise fits perfectly into the Kings’ ultra-competitive philosophy, led by general manager Dean Lombardi and his able assistant, Ron Hextall. What they determined on their way to the Stanley Cup was what so many have known already. But until you witness it up close, experience it with your players - that fine line between success and failure often comes down to little more than effort

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are over and now comes the question - where is Zach going to sign - it seems like very day there is another rumor or pontification by a blogger or hockey writer on where Zach is going to sign when free agency begins.

Pen's Sidney Crosby to get 10 year deal

The NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is probably doing cartwheels knowing that one of his favorite players is now locked up with a long term deal with his favorite hockey team, it probably also means that the NHL on NBCSN will be all Penguins all of the time. Personally, I think this contract is a bit of a risk – based on Crosby’s concussion issues.

Austin Pollack, NESN --- Sidney Crosby has been one of hockey’s most exciting players since he entered the league as the first overall pick in the 2005 NHL Draft. At the same time, he’s been the face of the Pittsburgh Penguins franchise.

It looks like Penguins fans have their man for another decade. Crosby is expected to get a 10-year, $90 million con tract extension, according to CBSSports.com. He is lined up to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season.

I also wonder, how many of these signing we will see before the current CBA expires? There seems to be a feeling that the NHL is going to definitely have another work stoppage this season. Under the current CBA, the NHL Players currently are taking 57% of the revenues. The NHL owners want a 50-50 split agreement and the players don’t seem to be in a hurry to take another pay cut like they did seven years ago after the 2004-05 lockout so there is a good chance that we could see a second lockout in the last seven years.

Bruins re-sign Brad Marchand

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Boston Bruins fans breathed a collective sigh of relief today as their up and coming star forward re-upped for two more seasons. Brad Marchand was a restricted free agent and was coming a great post season where he scored 11 goals and added 9 assists in 25 Stanley Cup playoff games. Marchand was a major reason the Bruins won the Stanley Cup this past season.  Marchand’s deal is worth about 5.5 million over two seasons.

Fluto Shinzawa; Boston.com --- The Bruins have confirmed that Brad Marchand has agreed to a contract extension. According to TSN, Marchand has signed a two-year, $5 million contract, giving him an annual cap hit of $2.5 million. Marchand will earn $2 million this season and $3 million in 2012-13. Marchand will be under contract and alongside his teammates when camp officially opens on Friday at TD Garden.

“From the get-go, I never was going to miss a day of camp,” Marchand said during a conference call. “I never wanted that. I wanted to be here the first day and show everyone I wanted to be here. I wanted to go through the whole camp with the guys and be part of the team. I’m very happy it didn’t have to come down to [a holdout] and that we could get a deal done before camp.”

Marchand’s extension was framed primarily by the two-year, $5.75 million contract that Logan Couture signed with San Jose. Couture, one of three finalists for the Calder Trophy last year, scored 32 goals. Marchand scored 21 goals and 20 assists.

Brad Marchand still unsigned.

Bruins restricted free agent forward Brad Marchand who had an impressive run during Stanley Cup Playoff (25 games 11g-8a-19pts) is still unsigned and without a contract. Going forward I think the Bruins are going to need Marchand in the mix if they want to make another run towards the Stanley Cup. If you forgot how good Brand Marchand was during the Stanley Cup playoffs take a look at this highlight video.

BOLTON, Mass. -- The Bruins assembled at The International in Bolton for the annual Bruins Foundation Golf Tournament on Monday, and Brad Marchand was once again present with his teammates.

Marchand has been skating with the Bruins in their captain's practices, but the restricted free-agent forward remains without a new contract with veterans due to report to training camp on Friday.

The fact that Marchand remains involved in team functions gives reason for some optimism that a deal will be reached soon, but both sides remained relatively mum on the state of the negotiations.

"I'm not going to comment on that," Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said. "I can say that I love the way he plays and he's a very good player for us."

Related articles

• Boston Bruins 2011-12: Free Agent Brad Marchand "Anxious" to Get Deal Done (bleacherreport.com)
• Brad Marchand practices with Bruins, remains unsure about contract situation (prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com)
• NHL Free Agents: Boston Bruins and Brad Marchand May Not Reach Deal Before Camp (bleacherreport.com)
• Marchand gets hero's homecoming in Halifax (cbc.ca)
• Brad Marchand and Bruins still not close to getting a deal done (prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com)

Former Sioux defenseman Chay Genoway; Working It Out

Image via WikipediaIt sounds like Chay Genoway made quite the impression this past week at the Minnesota Wild development camp. It would be awesome to see a player like Chay Genoway make it to the NHL.

Minnesota Wild --- At 5-foot-9, 177 pounds, Chay Genoway doesn’t look like your prototypical NHL defensemen.
But looks are often deceiving.

At the Minnesota Wild Development Camp, the recent free agent signee out of the University of North Dakota is doing what he can to show that height is just a number, and strength knows no limits.

Genoway’s off-ice strength testing has been as impressive as his coast-to-coast goal in Saturday’s scrimmage. Word has it that after piling up the most consecutive pushups among the prospects, he immediately started his pull ups and tallied the highest number of those.

“He is quite strong physically,” said Kirk Olson, the Wild’s recently hired strength and conditioning coach, whose first order of business was working out the prospects this week. “He has a low center of gravity and is hard to knock off his feet.”

If anyone knows size isn’t always relative to strength, it’s Genoway. The former UND captain is showing that he arrived at camp ready to make a run at a professional career.

“I’ve been doing the normal summer time stuff, like lifting weights and conditioning,” Genoway said. “But I also tried to get on the ice more than usual this summer so it wouldn’t be too strenuous on things like the groin or hip-flexors, like the ice can be when you jump right to it.”

In his first camp, at 23 years old, Genoway was one of the elder statesmen. His development as a player is advanced compared to his younger counterparts, and he knows the importance of making a good first impression.

The last paragraph caught my attention because of what has transpired this past week at the University of North Dakota; as most college hockey fans know the Fighting Sioux had a commitment from J.T. Miller, who was drafted in the first round of the NHL draft by the New York Rangers, to play at UND... Then for some unknown reason J.T. Miller decides with less than a month and a half before the school year is about to start that he would rather play for the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL. If one of Miller's concerns is player development, playing at UND wouldn't hinder his development.

Maybe this is a stretch, but I think one could make the inference that Chay's development at UND helped him  made an impression on the Minnesota Wild management, the Wild coaching staff and the fans of the Minnesota Wild that attended the Wild Development Camp.

Related articles

• Wild sign Lundin, a Minnesota native (freenhlpicks.wordpress.com)
• You: Niklas Backstrom: 5 Reasons the Minnesota Wild Should Consider Trading Him (bleacherreport.com)
• 2011 NHL Free Agency: Dealmaking Set to Make Huge Impact for Minnesota Wild (bleacherreport.com)