Minnesota Wild make cuts, Petr Sykora signs, Nobody named Captain

Wild signs Sykora; Lineup for Friday’s game vs. Columbus
The Wild signed winger Petr Sykora today to a one-year contract for $1.6 million. The signing leaves the team $800,000 from salary cap, meaning it’ll be much harder for forwards Colton Gillies and Andy Hilbert to make the team.

Wild make first round of cuts

Sykora takes to new team right away | StarTribune.com
Despite a four-hour drive to Prague, a flight to Amsterdam and a cross-Atlantic journey on Tuesday, Petr Sykora practiced with the Wild on Wednesday afternoon. Yes, there were signs of jet lag, but Sykora, one of the NHL's most consistent goal scorers for a decade, filled the back of the net and was so vocal you would have sworn he'd been hanging with his new teammates for years.

New Wild sniper Petr Sykora has simple game plan: I shoot - TwinCities.com
Petr Sykora stepped on the Xcel Energy Center ice wearing Wild gear for the first time Wednesday and appeared right at home. "No need for him to be nervous," coach Todd Richards said. "I'm sure he's been in a lot more situations than I've been in."

In Wild coach Todd Richards' grade book, no one has earned a 'C' yet - TwinCities.com
Coach Todd Richards declined to hand out the captain's "C" for the Wild's first exhibition game Tuesday night against the Blues in St. Louis, which the Wild lost 3-1. "To me, that's an important thing," he said. "You don't just throw it around, put it on guys. It signifies something. Again, it's something we'll spend a lot of time on, and we'll take our time."

Players get bit of a breather after camp's brisk start | StarTribune.com
"The last couple days have been hard practices, and talking to the players, there's a little bit of soreness and fatigue," Richards said. "The fourth day of training camp is a little hump to get over. We looked it as a day where we can teach something and get something out of it while also letting the guys recover." Richards unveiled what could be the first power-play unit -- forwards Andrew Brunette, Mikko Koivu and Martin Havlat with point men Marek Zidlicky and Brent Burns.