Rangers, Wild might score big with new oft-dinged wings

When the end of the Marian Gaborik era became official, the Minnesota Wild didn't waste any time moving on to the next stage. Maybe it will even turn out to be better than the first with the skills of Martin Havlat now in tow.

'Life brings a lot of changes and this is one of them,' Marian Gaborik says about his move to New York. (Getty Images)

That's not a knock on Gaborik, a rare talent who was the Wild's first-ever draft pick, but he never quite managed to lift the team to the heights it hoped he would. The Slovakian forward came to the expansion team in 2000 at age 18, speaking no English yet expected to carry the franchise on his shoulders. Now he leaves as the last, and best, original Wild player. He now heads to the New York Rangers with his back turned firmly toward his old team.

"I've moved on, definitely turned the page," he said. "I'm looking forward to starting a new hockey life."

No doubt. Gaborik was hurt a lot during eight seasons with the Wild and never really had the right supporting talent around him. But he still gave Minnesota one of the game's flashiest, most dangerous players and established every key team scoring record in the process. His one-man show even carried the team through its only deep playoff run in 2003 to the Western Conference finals.

But Gaborik always seemed stifled by the defensive schemes of coach Jacques Lemaire, and when he rejected several rich extension offers from the Wild last summer and the regular season, it was obvious he wanted a change of scenery and playing style. The irony is Gaborik leaves as Minnesota goes through a major shift in direction with general manager Chuck Fletcher and coach Todd Richards recently replacing Doug Risebrough and Lemaire, the organization's original brain trust.

Not that it really mattered.

"I only experienced playing in the NHL for one team." Gaborik said. "Life brings a lot of changes and this is one of them. I'm very excited."

•  Rangers get Gaborik | Wild sign Havlat | Hossa goes to Blackhawks

So are the Rangers for that matter. New York has done a remarkable job overhauling an anemic offense in just two days by shedding Scott Gomez and Markus Naslund from the payroll and bringing in Gaborik and Chris Higgins while saving a few bucks in the process. At $37.5 million for five years, Gaborik didn't end up with nearly as much money as Minnesota offered him, but no one will be surprised to see him flourish and perhaps even become a 50-goal scorer under the hard-charging style of Rangers coach John Tortorella.

"We need to teach him our team concept, how we want to play and get him to buy into that," Tortorella said. "But when you have talent like that, you get out of his way. We want him to express himself offensively."

All he has to do is stay healthy. The Rangers took what some might consider a big gamble on an often-injured player who missed most of last season because of hip surgery. But Gaborik returned for Minnesota's final 11 games, scoring 10 times, and New York was desperate to add a game-breaking scorer. The Rangers were working on a deal with Ottawa for Dany Heatley as the opening to free agency approached, but ultimately decided on Gaborik over the disgruntled Senators player.

'I think everybody's excited, it's kind of a fresh start,' new Wild winger Martin Havlat says. (Getty Images)

"[Gaborik] is the guy we targeted from the beginning," Rangers GM Glen Sather said. "We had to wait to talk to him, but I had a pretty good idea he was interested in coming to New York. We're going to have a very up-tempo speed game, this guy fits the bill to a T."

Chances are Gaborik might have fit the same way under Richards, who was an assistant in San Jose last season and like Fletcher, has talked a lot about making Minnesota's game more attack oriented since coming over. But the Wild should get what its new system needs from the 28-year-old Havlat, who has highlight-quality skills (and perhaps fragility) similar to Gaborik, and costs less. And unlike Gaborik, who couldn't wait to leave Minnesota, Havlat will be a very motivated player who can't wait to get there, especially after being snubbed by his old team.

"I think everybody's excited," Havlat told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "From looking at [Minnesota], there's a lot of potential, a lot of great players. It's kind of a fresh start."

Not to mention a chance for Havlat to finally prove he can be the go-to guy on a team.

Havlat thought he was assuming that role when Chicago traded for him in 2006, but a variety of injuries kept him sidelined for most of his first two seasons there. Last season, the leads on the resurgent Blackhawks were played by Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, yet Havlat still ended up as the team's top scorer and a key part of Chicago's run to the West finals. But the Blackhawks wouldn't talk to him about a long-term deal, offering only a one-year contract to re-sign.

Ostensibly, that was because Chicago wanted to keep some cap space for younger stars Toews, Kane, Duncan Keith and Cam Barker, who have to be renewed after next season. But the Blackhawks gave Marian Hossa a 12-year contract worth nearly $63 million and kissed off Havlat. It's a questionable exchange because while Hossa is a big-time talent, much of the Blackhawks' success last season was due to the chemistry created within the young team.

Havlat was soothed a few hours later when Minnesota said it wanted him to assume Gaborik's central role in the offense, and proved it by signing the speedy forward for $30 million over six years. That's about the same annual cap hit Chicago will have for the 30-year-old Hossa and about $2.5 million less than Gaborik's, so Minnesota still has some dollars to attract free agents to what it wants to be a new-look team.

"There's a lot of potential," Havlat said.

There should be when a new era begins.