NHL Free Agency 2011

Except for the back up goalie. The Wild just need to sit back & take an honest appraisal of what we have. Lets go through the trade deadline & see where the Wild are at. If at that point the Wild are exceeding/underperforming then make a decision to add or subtract. We will have a young defense that is going to screw up, its just the way things are going to be. Who knows, maybe getting Gui back & the addition of Gucchi is suddenly going to open the floodgates. I mean honestly, how many times did Mittens have golden chances to score only to miss? Gucci would probably have buried many of those. Gui healthy & in the best shape of his life will certainly bring rewards. With a new coach who may actually use the right line combinations to the BENEFIT of the team, next year could be better. Will we win the cup? Of course not, will we make the playoffs? I have no idea. Will next year be entertaining & sometimes painful certainly. Should the Wild sign any free agents? Nope, save the money & the cap space. Thirteen Million goes a long way towards a free agent next year who is a real first line scorer.

Gillies and Wellman are going to be given a shot to make the NHL club. I would like to see Wellman play on one of the top lines, but it would involve a major shuffle. He could fit between Marty and Lats, move Brodziak down and have Cullen shift to wing with Clutterbuck on the other side. Gillies seems like he’s ready to play the 4th line center role with Staubitz and Nystrom.
Maybe Madden comes back on a one-year deal? From the sound of it, he would either play in Minnesota or retire, so I’m guessing the Wild could get him cheap to fill a bottom-line role while adding some veteran presence for some of the younger guys. Madden would also allow the Wild to move Gillies to wing and scratch Staubitz when his toughness isn’t necessary. He does give the Wild another penalty killer as well. Plus, he did finish the season very well and seemed like the only guy who gave a damn after Koivu went down. Not a bad voice to have in the locker room or on the ice. Not imperative that the Wild bring him back, but an option none the less.
Possible depth defenseman move made this year? I believe that a lot of people thought the team would make the same move last year, but I don’t think anything ever actually happened on that front. I won’t say the team needs to make a depth move, but like Madden, another veteran voice wouldn’t necessarily hurt.
My guess is that the Wild do the same thing last year and wait on signing another goalie. I believe they would allow Endras the opportunity to earn the backup role in camp before making additions. There’s also the possibility that Harding comes cheap since he needs to prove to suitors his knee is back and he can play.

Other than defenseman or goalie, I don’t see a major move. Since the NHL needs a new CBA, I would actually expect the cap to go down. The whispers on other blogs are indicating that many teams that struggle financially are not pleased with how the cap floor is. In addition, the ceiling is quickly approaching the level that Detroit and Colorado spent at before the lockout, which is defeating the purpose of leveling out the field. My guess would be the new CBA will lower the cap, and I don’t believe the Wild want to find themselves pushing the new ceiling too quickly.