Minnesota Wild Team Report

This was expected to be an eventful offseason for the Wild anyway, but it started with a boom. Three days after Jacques Lemaire resigned as the Wild's only coach it ever had, the only general manager it ever had, Doug Risebrough, was unexpectedly fired April 14. The Wild, after two straight first-round playoff exits, missed the playoffs this past season after winning the Northwest Division last year. "I can't overemphasize, this is not a knee-jerk decision on my part," said owner Craig Leipold, who had one coach and GM during his 10-year reign as the Nashville Predators' owner. "It's very well thought out, trying to understand what I feel it will take to get to the next level. It's my feeling now it's time to move forward. It's time to move on. "I just saw things, and my gut says now's the time for a change so we can go out and get the best person out there who can take this incredible brand and great franchise and great team to the next level. "It's time we get some new eyes in here." Risebrough's biggest downfall was being too conservative, both in free agency and in trades. He just always seemed gun-shy to pull the trigger on impact moves. "I made decisions on a regular basis for the right reasons, and the right reasons never included me," Risebrough said. "Now I can say, I didn't always make the right decisions, but I did them for the right reasons. And I feel good about that." Leipold is currently searching for a GM. He's expected to interview former GM's Pat Quinn, Doug MacLean and Jay Feaster. He's also interested in Pittsburgh assistant GM Chuck Fletcher and Nashville assistant GM Paul Fenton. SEASON HIGHLIGHT: After trailing 3-0 late in the second period March 5 at San Jose, the Wild stormed back to beat the Sharks 4-3 on Mikko Koivu's first career overtime winner. The highlight of the game was defenseman Marek Zidlicky tying the score at 3-3 in the third period with a bouncing shot from the red line that somehow got under Sharks goalie Brian Boucher. TURNING POINT: There was no real specific turning point other than several of them. The Wild just simply could not get on a real winning streak all season. Until winning in Columbus on Saturday night, the Wild hadn't won three games in a row since mid-November. It was too little, too late.NOTES, QUOTESAgent Ron Salcer blasted the Wild to the Minneapolis Star Tribune for allowing his client, D Brent Burns, to play six weeks with a concussion. Burns says he was originally injured in practice Jan. 26. He played until March 7 before he shut himself down. "I met with Brent in L.A. (March 6)," Salcer said. "We're having lunch with him and (fellow client Derek Boogaard) and he's telling me about when he hit his head six weeks earlier. So I'm listening to him, and I'm incredulous listening to him. "He's telling me how, 'Ronny, I'm an avid reader and I'm not able to read on the bus anymore. I get headaches that go all around my head. I'm can't sleep. During the game, I'm not focusing. I feel like everything is happening, but I'm reacting slow. I go, 'Brent, are you kidding me? You've got a concussion. You cannot play. You cannot play anymore! "They said he had sinusitis. I mean, come on. I'm not a doctor, but I've been around the game for over 30 years. It took me three minutes to know that he had a concussion. How they cannot know for six weeks is amazing." Tom Lynn, the Wild's acting GM while owner Craig Leipold looks for fired-GM Doug Risebrough's replacement, said, "Burns' symptoms grew over a period of time and there was no initial big collision that would have clued anyone into a concussion... The fact Salcer may have pulled him out after Brent had already told us he did not feel up to playing (March 7) is not really relevant to the big picture, which is the Wild's desire for him to be healthy long-term. He is one of our young, core players."Salcer is also the agent for free-agent RW Marian Gaborik. With Risebrough and coach Jacques Lemaire gone, Salcer was asked if this would sway Gaborik to returning. "I called Tom Lynn personally in November, spoke with Tom and said, 'Would you be interested in reopening negotiations with Marian?' I'm still waiting for him to return that phone call. I never heard back ever," Salcer said. "That's in November. And so, the season went. And now when you look at July 1 on the horizon where we can talk to every team in the league, certainly we have to take that opportunity very seriously and we will. Having said that, should the organization want to call me, we'll listen to and explore anything. But we certainly see July 1 in the landscape here." Lynn said Salcer's "claim may be technically true but misleading." Lynn said he told Salcer that Risebrough would talk to Gaborik personally. "Doug told Marian that until Marian was healthy and the economy became more stable, there was no use trying to establish a new value," Lynn said. Gaborik missed 65 games this past season but scored 13 goals and 23 points in 17 games.Of the three finalists for the Vezina Trophy, G Niklas Backstrom is the only one to be in the top-five in all five major goaltending categories. He's humbled by the honor. "It felt really good," Backstrom said. "It's tough for a hockey player at this time of the year; you feel you should still be playing. So it feels good to hear some good news. It's a great honor."QUOTE TO NOTE: "He's so loyal to the team, he was afraid. He said, 'I don't want to tell them that. I don't want to burn a bridge.' I said, 'Burn a bridge? They just exploded one on you. You cannot play.'" Agent Ron Salcer, to the Star Tribune, on the Wild allowing D Brent Burns to play with a concussion for six weeks.ROSTER REPORT MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: There was much angst as the trade deadline approached about whether Niklas Backstrom's future was elsewhere, but on the day before, the Wild signed its backbone goaltender to a four-year, $24 million deal. Backstrom won a franchise-record 37 games and finished with a 2.33 goals against average and .923 save percentage. MOST DISAPPOINTING PLAYER: After a franchise-record 50 assists last season, Pierre-Marc Bouchard assisted on 20 fewer goals this season and had only 46 points in 71 games. He was plagued by inconsistency this season, and this came after signing a five-year, $20.4 million deal in the offseason with a two-year oral no-trade clause. FREE AGENT FOCUS: The Wild re-signed D John Scott to a one-year, one-way, $550,000 contract, but RW Marian Gaborik, D Martin Skoula, D Marc-Andre Bergeron, LW Stephane Veilleux and D Kurtis Foster remain unrestricted free agents. PLAYER NEWS:G Niklas Backstrom underwent left hip surgery to repair a labral deficiency and shave down two cysts on April 24. He's expected to recover in three months, which is excellent news for the Wild because originally it was expected Backstrom could miss up to six months.D Brent Burns continues to be hindered by post-concussion syndrome, but he felt good enough to undergo right shoulder surgery April 23. His shoulder is expected to heal in four months.D Marc-Andre Bergeron underwent back surgery to repair a disk problem April 28. He's expected to recover in six to eight weeks.LW Derek Boogaard underwent right shoulder surgery April 21. He's expected to be fully recovered in two months.LW Andrew Brunette underwent reconstructive right knee surgery April 16. He's expected to be out four to six months, which makes a training camp return up in the air.LW Antti Miettinen (Finland), C Peter Olvecky (Slovakia), D Marek Zidlicky (Czech Republic), C Morten Madsen (Denmark) and G Josh Harding (Canada) are taking part in the World Championships in Switzerland. As of April 30, Miettinen had three goals and six points in three games. MEDICAL WATCH:G Niklas Backstrom underwent surgery on his left hip April 24, and the result was good news it wasn't as extensive as expected. His rehabilitation will take about three months rather than six, as feared.D Marc-Andre Bergeron had successful back surgery on April 28 to repair a disk. He should be ready for next season.LW Andrew Brunette underwent surgery on his right knee April 16. The team said he played with torn ligaments in the knee during the second half of the season.D Brent Burns missed the last 19 games of the season with a concussion. He's still symptomatic.RW Pierre-Marc Bouchard missed the last eight games of the season with a concussion.D Nick Schultz missed the last three games of the season with concussion-like symptoms.LW Derek Boogaard underwent surgery on his right shoulder April 21.RW Dan Fritsche missed the last game of the season with a dislocated clavicle.