Minnesota Wild: The second most exciting time of the year

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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.

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Wild Kicking the Tires on Jarome Iginla

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Looks like the Wild are trying to add another top-six forward for their lineup. This is interesting news right here. I wonder what it would take to get Iggy in a Wild uniform? I would also applaud the move if it happened.

Michael Russo, Startribune – The draft is over, no player trades were made, so whether it’s Sunday or Monday, bet that Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher and coach Mike Yeo will try to get together in Minnesota with pending free agents Matt Niskanen and Thomas Vanek.

While those have been the most well-publicized names surrounding Wild interest in advance of the market opening across the NHL Tuesday, the Wild has other lines in the water, too.

The Wild has been in contact with camp, according to multiple sources. It’s unclear if the interest is mutual, but it’s definitely clear that the Wild is interested in potentially signing the future Hall of Fame winger and, ironically, all-time leader in basically every offensive category against the Wild.

Linus Omark Embellishment

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Matt Niskanen is given a two-minutes minor penalty for high sticking the Sabres Linus Omark. Wow! Talk about selling it. Thoughts?

P.K. Subban slewfoots Chris Kunitz

Hum! Another game, another P.K. Subban atrocity by the Habs defenseman, well maybe not, but I think this is the same thing that Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand got fined for when he slew footed Matt Niskanen. Last week the Habs punk Subban hit Boston Bruins forward David Krecji in the head with a questionable high hit . I am starting to see a pattern here, Subban is starting to turn into quite the goon.

Related articles

• Montreal Canadiens Add A Goon To Play With P.K. Subban (bleedblueshirt.wordpress.com)
• VIDEO: P.K. Subban Elbows David Krejci, Turtles When Challenged By Bruins (sbnation.com)
• Kalman: No Whining From Bruins Over Subban Hit (boston.cbslocal.com)
• Time for the NHL to throw the book at P.K. Subban for his dirty elbow (mvn.com)
• Krejci moves on from Subban hit (boston.com)

Brad Marchand vs Matt Niskanen

Bruins forward Brad Marchand slew-foot the former UMD Bulldog and current Penguins defenseman Matt Niskanen at the 03:19 mark of the third period behind the Penguin net. Marchand was given a two minute penalty for the slew-foot. I think you've got to give the smaller Marchand credit, instead of hiding behind the referee and begging for the ref to rescue him from the much bigger Penguins defenseman, Marchand stood up and answered the bell and fought the bigger Niskanen.

You can see from the video that neither player's first job is to fight and it ended up being more of a hug feast than anything. I would probably give the edge in the fight to the former Bulldog.

Related articles

• Matt Kalman: NHL Realignment Plan (boston.cbslocal.com)
• Five Observations: Bruins vs Sabres (insidehockey.com)
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Matt Niskanen hit on Eric Staal

Check out this hit by former UMD Bulldog Matt Niskanen on Carolina Hurricane Eric Staal. There was no penalty called on the play and Eric Staal suffered an upper-body injury on the play and will not play against the Montreal Canadians tonight. According to the rules this is not a violation of the NHL's Rule 48.