Marion Gaborik will miss his sixteenth consecutive game when the Wild take on St. Louis tonight at the X. The Wild star’s last game on the ice was October 14th against Atlanta. If you pay attention to the daily injury report, the Slovakian’s injury is listed simply as a “lower-body injury” with no explanation or reason behind it. To be fair, Gaborik has had numerous leg injuries throughout his eight-year NHL career, missing almost half of his team’s contests. But unless he tore a muscle in his leg, ruptured one of his semen factories, or is a long-lost cousin of “Mr. Glass”, there is no “lower-body injury” that should keep a professional athlete out for six weeks. This situation becomes even sketchier, especially when you consider that Gaborik likely did not become injured while playing hockey. In fact, IT IS COMPLETELY IMPOSSIBLE.Gaborik was in the lineup on October 14th against the Thrashers. He played over twenty-three minutes and did not leave the game due to injury. Two days later, prior to Minnesota’s game with Florida, Gaborik was listed with a leg injury. He has not seen the ice since.
As it turns out, Gaborik was playing “hackysack and volleyball” in the off day prior to his first game missed against Florida. It has also been reported that he and his Wild teammates were also stoned and listening to Matisyahu when the injury occurred…but I digress. Thus, the only logical explanation for Gaborik’s injury would be that he happened to get seriously injured engaging in one of those two recreational activities. Or is it possible that the Wild, the model franchise of the Twin Cities and the NHL, began holding out their star player in the hopes that they could swiftly move him out of town?
If that was the Wild’s plan, it has now failed worse than a midget at an amusement park. There is no way that Gaborik, who is in phenomenal shape and has the luxury of 21st century technology and trainers to aid his recovery, is still injured. If he truly is still hurt, then he is a giant pussy. By deactivating Gaborik, the Wild’s leverage has significantly diminished and they now face a decision. They can keep him behind the boards, hoping to score a deal in the near future, or the Wild can play him and hope that he doesn’t get seriously injured, which would hurt his trade value at the deadline even more. Obviously, no sane general manager is going to offer up a fair package in a trade when he is “injured”, because there is no chance in hell that Gaborik signs with Minnesota following the season.
The frustrating part is that this story has stayed on the backburner of the Minnesota sports scene largely because of the mindset that the Wild Franchise can do no wrong in this market. The constant dicksucking, by fans and media alike, of former owner Bob Naegele, current owner
Craig Leopold, GM Doug Risebrough, and head coach Jacques Lemaire makes Paris Hilton look like a nun. They have completely botched the Gaborik situation, especially when he has rejected contract extensions of over $8 million per year. The prudent thing to do would have been to trade him before the season, when his value was at its peak.
Quite frankly, this is a small-market franchise which is in the NHL to make money, not to win championships. They consistently do not make quality free-agent signings or trades, which would make the Wild franchise a perennial Stanley Cup contender. The Wild simply under spend and under achieve, while selling out every game at sky-high ticket prices. That’s what makes the bottom line look the best, because the fans will keep coming in a hockey-crazy state as long as their team is competitive. It’s just too bad that the face of a franchise and one of the best skill players in hockey is stuck in the joke of the Wild’s operation.
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2 comments:
(1) What are the criteria for judging "model franchise of the NHL?"
(2) How are the Wild the model franchise of the NHL? Because they make money and have a new arena with good attendance? Granted, they've been reasonably successful, but they aren't the only mid size to small market who does that. Some others do that and even win more. And that's before ignoring the big market franchises that (1) have state of the art arenas (2) draw fans and (3) are legitimate Stanley Cup contenders.
(3) The Wild might not have the highest payroll in the NHL, but they're usually in the top 10-15. They aren't completely skimping on funds.
(4) I'd argue the Twins are a much better run franchise than the Wild, considering the Twins' payroll constraints and success. Once they get their new stadium in 2010, the Twins will probably surpass the Wild in terms of "Best Twin Cities Franchise" so long as they keep winning.
1.)Well, they are a small market team, they have the best arena in the league, and they are consistently are in playoff contention.
2.) Yes, see #1. I agree that there are larger market teams that are equal to or better in terms of the way the team is run as well as their facilities. The MSP media market, other than an occasional Reusse column, never point out this fact.
3.)For the amount of revenue this franchise generates with their ticket sales, merchandise, etc., I would say they are pretty tight with their $.
4.) Agreed.
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