MINNEAPOLIS, Minn – The NHL trade deadline looms over the horizon and the Minnesota Wild have many tough decisions to make. Stuck in a race with only four points separating the team and nine other teams in the Western Conference, it is time for General Manager Chuck Fletcher to decide the exact direction the team wants to head for the next three months. However, signs seem to point that the Wild will not be sellers. Since the New Year, the Wild have posted an impressive 13-5-0 record and are in the middle of the race with only one point from eight place. In addition, injured key players, such as Marek Zidlicky and Guillaume Latendresse, hope to return to the lineup and help push the Wild into the postseason. Still, there are several tough decisions to make. Players Andrew Brunette, Antti Miettinen, John Madden, Chuck Kobasew, Josh Harding, Jose Theodore and James Sheppard are all looking to negotiate their contracts with either this team or another at the end of the season. With Brent Burns and Guillaume Latendresse hoping for decent raises the following season, General Manager Chuck Fletcher will have to choose whether to keep them or to let them go through trades or free agency. Both Josh Harding and James Sheppard were hoping to make their case to stay with the Wild after years of being stuck behind the Wild’s depth chart. Harding, previously regarded as the Wild’s future between the pipes, has consistently been outplayed by Niklas Backstrom, who is considered untradeable due to his expensive salary cap. Unfortunately, Harding suffered an ACL injury that will most likely force him to miss the entire season as he becomes an unrestricted free agent. James Sheppard was also hoping to make something out of a season that could possibly be his last with the Wild after years of not living up to his draft hype. Like Harding, Sheppard suffered an injury that will force him to miss the entire season. However, he will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season so it will be interesting to see how General Manager Chuck Fletcher handles that situation. Looking for a veteran backup goaltender, the Wild signed Vezina winner Jose Theodore to alleviate some workload for starting goaltender Niklas Backstrom. He has been a real gem for the team, posting an impressive .913 save percentage as well as a 2.73 goals against average, providing the Wild with a solid goaltending tandem. However, it is unclear whether Theodore wants to continue playing behind Backstrom or whether he would want to explore free agency and find a team that is willing to give him more playing minutes. Starring opposite Andrew Brunette is Antti Miettinen, who is considered to be a fine compliment to that line. However, he remains a popular subject for criticism from fans, considered to be the weakest link on the Wild’s first line.
Andrew Brunette joined the Minnesota Wild after its first season in the NHL. Since then, he has become a fan favorite, including his famous overtime goal against the Colorado Avalanche in their 2003 Cinderella playoff run to the Conference Finals. He has been one of the Wild’s most consistent performers, producing most of his points through his ability to control the puck behind the net. However, at the age of 36 and known to be quite slow footed, fans are wondering they should continue having him, especially featuring on the first line. After losing James Sheppard to injury, General Manager Chuck Fletcher went out and searched for a veteran presence of the bottom two lines. As a result, the Wild signed John Madden, who has lead Wild forwards in shots blocked as well as shorthanded time on ice per game. However, much like Brunette, his age comes into question. Ever since joining the Wild through a trade with the Boston Bruins that sent a second round pick and prospect Alexander Fallstrom, Kobasew has provided some decent third line minutes. However, he has not provided the secondary scoring fans were hoping for when he scored 20 goals for during the previous two seasons with the Bruins. With a number of veterans waiting to negotiate their expiring contracts, it will be a tough decision for the Wild because of the tight race within the Western Conference. While the Wild want to make the postseason, they do not want to waste possible trade assets. Andrew Brunette, Jose Theodore and John Madden could quite possibly attractive playoff assets to teams that are searching for veteran presence and it would be hard to pass on returns that can help the Wild rebuild its prospect pool. But as mentioned before, the playoff race remains tight and it is unlikely to see any transactions, if any, made by the Wild till trade deadline day. Contact the writer at daniel.chan@prohockeynews.com
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