Minnesota Wild and those players who are free agents…who to re-sign?

Hockey season’s over. The draft is around the corner (actually, the NHL Draft is this weekend). However, the free-agency period starts on July 1^st and the Wild have some decisions to make on some of their players who are eligible for free agency.

As of today, the Wild have about $12 million in salary cap space for seven roster spots.

So, who should the Wild look at re-signing? Here is my top-three list of the players the Wild should re-sign:

#1. Devan Dubnyk

Devan Dubnyk has made it clear that he loves it here in Minnesota and he wants to remain with the Minnesota Wild. We all know about the miraculous run the Wild had after he was acquired back in January.

The reason why I am saying that Dubnyk should be re-signed is because of the goaltending mess before Dubnyk arrived with Backstrom and Kuemper. As of right now, I don’t see Backstrom playing again in a Wild sweater (he had elbow surgery in the off season and that affects the Wild’s ability to buy him out of the last year on his contract). Kuemper did have a good start to the 2014-15 season (opening the season with back-to-back shut outs against Colorado), but his inconsistency reared its ugly head and he failed big-time when he was given the chance to take over as the Wild’s top goaltender. In addition, there is speculation that Josh Harding is going to retire. (Harding did not play a single game in a Wild uniform this past season and it was the last year of his contract).

All I am going to say on the contract talks is that both sides are talking this week.

**Update** Dubnyk was awarded the 2014-15 Masterton Trophy at the NHL awards. He is the second Wild player in three years to be awarded the Masterton Trophy (named for the late Minnesota North Star Bill Masterton). Josh Harding was awarded it back in 2013.

#2. Chris Stewart

I know right off the bat here that this isn’t going to sit well with a lot of people, especially with Stewart being a “streaky” player and the questions about his effort and consistency.

The reason why I believe the Wild should make an attempt to re-sign him is that he brought a physical presence to the Wild that they haven’t had in a while. He is another free-agent who is hoping to return to the Wild next season.

Mike Yeo said this of Stewart during the play-offs, “He's a guy that has a physical edge. He's a big body. He's going to play the game hard.” The Wild haven’t had that in a while and it was great to see the Wild bring someone like him in, especially because he stands up for his teammates on the ice.

He was hampered by a separated shoulder during the series against Chicago, which he did try to play through before missing games 3 and 4.

However, Stewart could have potential suitors this free-agency period other than the Wild. So, the above mentioned cap space limitations for the Wild could come into play.

#3. Mikael Granlund

I know that Mikael Granlund is a restricted free agent and his name has been mentioned as a possible trade candidate. I think right now that the Wild will re-sign him, and depending how he does during the upcoming 2015-16 season, he could possibly end up being traded—which I know isn’t a popular decision.

From what has been reported, Granlund is only looking for a short-term deal and he will probably get it.

This is what was recently written about Granlund (and some of this is obvious to Wild fans):

 “On the other hand, he is small by NHL standards, doesn’t have elite speed, chooses to pass when he should shoot too often and has missed significant time with several different upper body injuries, most notably at least one concussion. In addition to failing to developing into a No. 1 center through three seasons, it sounds as though his camp will be seeking that kind of money. The Wild don’t have it and need him to prove capable of being a consistent and healthy top center before they can think about giving it to him.”

Granlund needs to prove that he can produce and he can stay healthy before any team will give him a long term deal.

Key NHL Dates (from NHL.com):

June 26-27 NHL Draft, BB&T Center, Sunrise, FL

July 1 Free agency begins at 12 PM ET

July 5 Deadline for player-elected arbitration notification at 5 PM ET

July 6 Deadline for club-elected arbitration notification at 5 PM ET

August 6 Deadline for arbitration decisions to be rendered 

Avalanche Head Coach Patrick Roy takes cheap shot at Twin Cities media before season series finale on Sunday….

Before Sunday’s series finale between the Avalanche and the Wild at the Xcel Energy Center, Patrick Roy opened his pre-game press conference by taking a cheap shot at the Twin Cities media—specifically the Star Tribune’s Michael Russo.

Below is Patrick Roy's statement:

According to Chad Graff (from the Saint Paul Pioneer Press) via Twitter, Roy was "unhappy with the way Minnesota media portrayed events of last (February 28) game, called an article in today's (Sunday) Star Tribune 'garbage.'"  (Going into Sunday's game, the Wild have a 4-0 record against the Avalanche this season). 

Graff goes on to state (via Twitter) that according to Roy, "Nothing major happened. I'm looking at their line up and (Wild forward Mikael) Granlund seems to be there tonight, isn't he?" 

So, Roy is implying that Granlund is a "goon?" What was Roy paying attention to during the last 8 seconds of the game on February 28 at the Pepsi Center?  Nothing major happened? Well, if memory serves me correctly, Cody McLeod was called for a 2 minute unsportsmanlike minor, a 5 minute fighting major, and a 10 minute misconduct penalty (along with being tossed from the game). McLeod was fined by the league $3,098.40 for "purposely entering the game with less than 10 seconds for purposely starting an altercation." (stated in my last blog post, here).  Roy should be very thankful that McLeod wasn't called for an instigating penalty because Roy would have been fined $10K for it and McLeod would have faced a suspension. 

Roy also made a similar statement about forward Charlie Coyle by stating that "if he (Yeo) puts Coyle out, I have to put somebody out on the ice." After McLeod's hit on Granlund, Coyle stood up for his teammate and fought with McLeod. 

Michael Russo (who was out of town on Sunday) did make this statement via twitter:

I read the article that Patrick Roy is calling "garbage." I also quoted Russo in my previous blog post. I didn't see where Russo was advocating for McLeod or any other Avs player to be injured. As I recall, Roy made a statement to Mike Kiszla from the Denver Post either at the end of the playoffs last season or the beginning of the season "...One of our players will hurt one of their guys." (Roy's statement can be found in this Russo article, here). That was in regards to the Matt Cooke hit on Tyson Barrie during the playoffs last year. 

Roy did make himself a hypocrite when he said "If we were about revenge, it would have been done long ago because of what happened to Tyson Barrie."  

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson did chime in on this whole thing by making this statement on twitter (and basically making himself hated in the state where he was born and raised):

Sorry, Erik. When your head coach makes idiotic statements like the ones he did, people have a right to call him out on it. What he accomplished as a player doesn't have to be taken into any consideration when he spews garbage like he did. 

Patrick Roy should be worried more about winning games and where his team is currently in the standings than what somebody in the media says. He also needs to start having better control of his players on the ice and on the bench. With the thug/goon mentality Roy has, he could very well end up in a similar situation like former Canucks head coach Marc Crawford did when he, the Vancouver Canucks, and Todd Bertuzzi were sued by former Avalanche player Steve Moore as a result of a career-ending injury caused by a vicious hit by Todd Bertuzzi win which Moore suffered a concussion and three fractured vertebrae (more about that incident here).

Roy could have also made his garbage statements to rile his team up (which obviously worked because the Avs beat the Wild 3-2 on Sunday for their only win against the Wild this season). 

As far as Patrick Roy stating "I don't think hockey needs this today," I don't think hockey needs a coach and a team with a thug mentality taking liberties at other players like McLeod's hit on Granlund and the following Gabriel Landeskog punch on Mikko Koivu when both players were on their respective benches. 

Whatever respect people and hockey fans might have had for Patrick Roy as a player, Roy could very well be losing that respect as a coach. Any respect I might have had for Roy as a player (and he was a goalie I enjoyed watching when I was growing up), is definitely gone now with his statements and actions as a coach. I know he's standing up for his players, but to take a cheap shot at the media without backing those statements up with proof is showing how classless Patrick Roy is. 

Can the Wild turn things around in the second half?

Here we are beginning of the second half of the season—which generally means the push for the playoffs. The Wild are currently seven points out for the final Wild card spot for the play offs, with a 21-20-6 record (after having beat Edmonton 2-1 on Tuesday night).

Given the current play of goalies Niklas Backstrom and Darcy Kuemper, Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher traded the Wild’s 2015 third round draft pick to the Arizona Coyotes for goaltender Devan Dubnyk. 

Dubnyk, 28, has been Mike Smith’s back up for the Coyotes and is an unrestricted free-agent at the end of this season. In the 19 games Dubnyk has played for his previous team, he had a 9-5-2 record with a 2.72 GAA and .917 save percentage. (Kuemper has a .902 save % and 2.68 GAA, while Backstrom has a .887 save % and 3.04 GAA, but the Wild’s record has been 18-19-5). 

Devan Dubnyk deflecting the puck over Jonas Brodin's head

Kuemper was sent down to Iowa on Monday for a conditioning assignment (he can be there for up to two weeks). Prior to Kuemper making a relief appearance in the Wild’s game against Detroit, he missed the previous seven games with what the Wild had announced was a “lower body” injury.

We all know how Dubnyk’s debut for the Wild went. He is the first goaltender for the Wild to have a shutout in their debut with the team. Yes, I know, the Wild were playing the Buffalo Sabres. However, Dubnyk did start in the Wild’s last game before the All-Star Break and was pulled for Darcy Kuemper after letting in 4 goals on 10 shots.

Entering the All-Star Break, the Wild were 2-7-2. There are 35 games left in this wild roller-coaster of a season.

Wild Forward Mikael Granlund stated this to Minneapolis Star Tribune Columnist Michael Russo (which appeared in Russo’s column on January 27):

“There’s still 30-something games left…A lot of things can happen and I think every guy in this locker room believes we can make it to the playoffs. We need to go game by game. That’s the only thing we can do now.”

Granlund returned to the Wild line up on Tuesday after having missed the previous four weeks with a broken wrist. So far, Granlund only has 15 points in 32 games this season—so the Wild need him to start producing. (Last season, Granlund had 41 points in the 63 games he played).

As far as where the Wild are currently in the standings, Zach Parise stated this to the Twin Cities media:

“We've got to win…There's no other way to put it. There's not a lot of room for error, and it's going to be hard. We know that. It's going to be very hard. But we're not going to quit. We've got to keep improving and get our game going in the right direction...We can't get caught up (in the standings)…We can't put ourselves in an every-game's-a-win-or-season's-over type scenario. You stress yourself out, and all of a sudden, mentally, you're making the game a lot harder. You try to put it in small things where (Tuesday) night we've got to win the first period and then go from there. We can't win the game right away, but we've got to win the first period. That's got to be our approach as we go on through this road trip and the rest of the season. We know what the standings look like. That's no secret. But we can't make up all those points this week. We've got to start small." (Chad Graff, twincities.com, 1/26/2015)

Going into Tuesday night’s game against Edmonton, the Wild are going to need about 46 points in the remaining 36 games of this season (with a record of 22-10-4). Can the Wild pull it off? It will be interesting. They were able to do it last year (after having been decimated by injuries in the months of December and January heading into the Olympic break). How this season is going to turn out remains to unfold at this point in the season. 

The other lingering question is whether or not the Wild are going to be either sellers or buyers come the March 2nd trade deadline. Could the Wild actually try to get Niklas Backstrom to waive his no trade clause and try to move him? That is something else that remains to be seen. 

I would like to believe the Wild could possibly turn things around and make a push towards getting into the playoffs. However, I think the Wild have dug themselves into quite a hole and I can see them possibly playing spoiler towards the end of the season.