Wild Trade Rumors

Gaborik's contract talks at 'an impasse' with Wild
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October 5
St. Paul Pioneer Press
 
"Doug Risebrough thought he could sign Marian Gaborik before the regular season starts next Saturday. That's not going to happen, the Wild general manager said, and the next steps are uncertain. "We're going to have to wait and see for the next little bit," Risebrough said Saturday from Montreal, where the Wild were scheduled to play their final exhibition against the Canadiens. Gaborik, the franchise's top scorer and first draft pick, is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in July. While the sides appeared to make some progress early, negotiations have hit what Gaborik's agent, Ron Salcer, on Saturday called "an impasse," and there are no current plans to meet again. The ..."
Wild GM: Gaborik won't be signed before start of season
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October 4
St. Paul Pioneer Press
 
"Doug Risebrough thought he could sign Marian Gaborik before the regular season starts next Saturday. That's not going to happen, the Wild general manager said, and the next steps are uncertain. "We're going to have to wait and see for the next little bit," Risebrough said Saturday from Montreal, where the Wild will play their final exhibition tonight against the Canadiens. Gaborik, the franchise's top scorer and first-ever draft pick, is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in July. While sides appeared to make some progress early, negotiations obviously have stalled. The "artifical timetable" of Oct. 11, Risebrough said, came out of early talks. "I was thinking in the context of ..."
Wild GM: time for decision
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September 23
St. Paul Pioneer Press
 
"Whether the Wild and Marian Gaborik are closer to a contract extension remained a mystery on Monday. The end game, however, appears close. "It's time to make a decision," general manager Doug Risebrough said. "We know that." Gaborik's agent, Ron Salcer, has attended Wild training camp here at Ralph Engelstad Arena and again met with Wild officials Monday as the sides try to hammer out an extension for the team's star right wing. "There have been steps made, some small steps," Salcer said. "But nothing that makes me feel particularly optimistic." Minnesota's courtship of Gaborik has been methodical, starting with talks about the team's philosophy and plans. The Wild hope to end it before ..."
Gaborik wants deal done with Wild
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September 22
St. Paul Pioneer Press
 
"Marian Gaborik was held off the ice Sunday as the Wild went through their second day of training camp. He was taken out of a scrimmage Saturday because of a pulled quadriceps muscle in his right leg. "Still sore," assistant general manager Tom Lynn said. "We'll be conservative this time of year. We're not going to push him out there; we'll rest him until he's really ready." Of more interest were comments from Gaborik's agent Ron Salcer, who watched practice Sunday from the stands at Ralph Engelstad Arena. He will meet with Lynn this week to discuss a contract extension for Gaborik, though Lynn declined to say when. In a short interview with the local beat writers, Salcer said Gaborik has ..."
Gaborik's agent also gets work in at camp site
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September 22
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
"Ron Salcer sat in the stands Sunday with fellow agent Tobin Wright, clients Brent Burns and Marian Gaborik and the father of client Derek Boogaard. But the Manhattan Beach, Calif.-based agent was eventually joined by Wild assistant GM Tom Lynn for a brief chat between periods of Sunday's scrimmage. The two agreed to meet again later in the day as the Wild and Salcer continue to work on an extension to Gaborik's contract. Sunday, Salcer gave the strongest indication that Gaborik has instructed him to come to an agreement with the Wild if it's possible. "I believe we've made it very clear to them that our intentions are sincere," Salcer said. "Marian has made that clear that that's what he ..."
Backstrom must play waiting game
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September 21
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
"One of the biggest adjustments Niklas Backstrom had to make when he arrived in the NHL as a 28-year-old Wild "rookie" was the never-ending presence of the media. In Finland, Backstrom was used to reporters at games, not every practice. The goaltender wasn't used to having every facet of his game poked, prodded and analyzed, something that became headline material last year when Backstrom, who spoiled Wild fans in 2006-07, hit some midseason skids. But Backstrom, now 30, has a new appreciation for the media. Last weekend, he put on his reporter hat during a casual golf/dinner outing among teammates. In an attempt to get Marian Gaborik to reveal the inside scoop on whether he plans to sign ..."
Will the Wild sign Gaborik or trade him before next summer?
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September 14
St. Paul Pioneer Press
 
"In 1983, Bobby Smith was one of the bright young stars of the NHL, a former top overall draft choice and rookie of the year coming off seasons of 74, 83 and 93 points. But when Smith decided he had had enough of the Minnesota North Stars, general manager Lou Nanne had no choice but to trade him. The young centerman's bargaining power seems quaint today, but Nanne knew it was real. "He said, 'If you don't trade me, I'll go to school,' " Nanne recalled this week. "I knew it was true, so I had to do what I had to do. I never wanted to trade him, but here, I can't help it. You have to do something because you can't risk getting nothing." Which brings us forward 25 years to Marian Gaborik and ..."
GM Tom Lynn to meet with Gaborik's agent
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September 10
St. Paul Pioneer Press
 
"Wild assistant general manager Tom Lynn was scheduled to fly to Los Angeles this morning for a face-to-face with Marian Gaborik's agent, Ron Salcer. It would be the first time the parties have met in person about a contract extension for Gaborik, the Wild's top priority as training camp approaches. The franchise's top scorer with a career-high 42 goals last season and 414 career points is due to make $7.5 million this season, the last of a three-year extension. Without a new deal, he would become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Lynn declined to characterize the meeting as anything other than "an expected part of the process." Traditionally tight-lipped on personnel moves, the team ..."
Wild resumes Gaborik negotiations
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September 10
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
"Wild assistant General Manager Tom Lynn and agent Ron Salcer will meet in Los Angeles over the next few days to continue negotiations toward what the Wild hopes is an eventual contract extension to right wing Marian Gaborik's contract. "We're both trying to push the process forward," said Lynn, who flew to California late Tuesday. Lynn declined to characterize negotiations other than to say both sides have had several discussions. Gaborik, the Wild's all-time leading scorer who is entering the final year of his contract, said last week he's "willing to stay" in Minnesota, but he's also aware his options include becoming a highly coveted unrestricted free agent next summer. The Wild is ..."
Wild might consider trading Marian Gaborik
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August 19
St. Paul Pioneer Press
 
"Marian Gaborik still doesn't know if he wants to sign an extension with the Minnesota Wild or test free agency next July, his agent said Monday. But if Gaborik doesn't want the extension, according to Wild assistant general manager Tom Lynn, the team would have to consider trading its star right winger. "If he were to indicate he wasn't going to sign, then we'd have to make a decision about whether we'd want to play with that distraction," Lynn said. "We would have to weigh the pros and cons, and if that time came and he was not re-signing, then we would have to decide his trade value. But it's not an automatic." Gaborik's agent, Ron Salcer, said the sides have yet to talk contract, but ..."
Risebrough hopes to talk extension with Gaborik soon
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August 10
St. Paul Pioneer Press
 
"The Wild's first step toward signing Marian Gaborik to a contract extension may come this week when general manager Doug Risebrough meets with the star winger in Trencin, Slovakia. No meeting is set, but Risebrough is flying to Gaborik's homeland today to scout an under-18 tournament in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Gaborik, 26, is entering the final year of a three-year extension that will pay him $7.5 million. Risebrough hopes to visit Gaborik in Trencin to discuss the future of the team's leading scorer and last remaining original franchise member. "The player in this case will be a free agent in a year from now, and he should hear what the GM plans for the team and what we're trying ..."
With Bouchard's deal done, focus turns to Gaborik
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July 27
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
"Pierre-Marc Bouchard's cell phone battery died Friday night because he spent so much time conversing with his agent, Allan Walsh. If Marian Gaborik is smart, he should charge some spare batteries. Now that the ink's dry on Bouchard's five-year, $20.4 million contract, the Wild plans to focus all of its attention on trying to extend Gaborik's contract with the richest, most groundbreaking offer in franchise history. It might be the final piece to the Wild's offseason agenda, but it's the largest and most critical. "Now that Pierre-Marc is done and we know what our team looks like going forward, it's time we start talking to Marian," said Tom Lynn, assistant general manager. In early ..."
Wild's Veilleux takes contract matter into own hands
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July 15
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
"Tom Lynn is known as a brash, stubborn negotiator. But Stephane Veilleux doesn't find him that way. In fact, the Wild's tightly-wound energy bug has yet to even contemplate body-checking the Wild assistant general manager into an office soda machine. Imagine this scene: Lynn, who went to Yale, has a law degree from Cornell and has negotiated millions of dollars worth of hockey contracts, staring across the desk at ... Veilleux, a 26-year-old winger. Earlier this summer, Veilleux decided it made no sense to continue paying his agent, Paul Corbeil, 4 percent of his salary. So Veilleux, a restricted free agent, fired Corbeil and decided to represent himself in negotiations for a new ..."
Courtnall sees success for Demitra
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July 10
Vancouver Province
 
"When Geoff Courtnall played tour guide for former St. Louis Blues linemate Pavol Demitra in the spring, he sold the unrestricted free agent forward on Vancouver's culture, cuisine and beauty. Courtnall also sold Demitra on playing for the Canucks..."I told him if the Canucks are one of the teams that comes around July 1 [free agency], you should definitely think of playing there." Demitra has done just that. Not only has the former Minnesota Wild forward stated that the Canucks top his wish list -- a Slovakian newspaper has reported he's close to signing a three-year, $12-million-US deal -- general manager Mike Gillis has acknowledged contract dialogue with his former client."
Demitra 'very interested' in joining Canucks
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July 9
Vancouver Sun
 
"Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison may be gone, Mats Sundin may never come, but the Vancouver Canucks are getting a nibble, at least, from one unrestricted free agent. That would be Minnesota Wild forward Pavol Demitra, who told a city radio station Tuesday that there's "a good chance" he will join the good ship Canuck. "I think there is a good chance," Demitra told CKNW. "[Current Canucks GM Mike Gillis] used to be my agent for a long time. We are very good friends. I am very interested in playing for [the Canucks].""
Wild trade for Zidlicky, appear close to signing Brunette
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