Wheeler not interested in the Wild
Posted on June 10th, 2008 – 11:39 PMBy Michael Russo
– First, I’ve gotten a lot of emails inquiring about former University of Minnesota right wing Blake Wheeler’s plans. I talked to the Wild this morning, and the team did have conversations with Wheeler’s agent, Matt Keator.
However, I called Keator today, and while Wheeler hasn’t closed the door on the Wild, he has narrowed his choices down to teams that do not include the Wild.
“He loves Minnesota and loves living there, but we’re looking elsewhere because I think he wants to get a different life experience, explore a different part of the country and grow and mature and experience new things,” Keator said. “The Wild has shown plenty of interest. They’ve been great.
“But this is a special opportunity to choose where he wants to play and live. Blake has a chance to select where he’s going to play, live and work. Most guys have to wait until they’re 27, 28, 29, 30 to become free agents. This guy’s 21 years old and making this decision.”
The Phoenix Coyotes, who drafted Wheeler fifth overall in 2004, offered him the maximum entry-level contract they could under the collective bargaining agreement, but Wheeler opted to become a free agent.
While Wheeler, who led Breck to a state title in 2004, could begin talking to teams June 1, he can’t officially sign until July 1. …
– Keator, who is free agent Pavol Demitra new rep, said he wants to talk to GM Doug Risebrough to see if the Wild has closed the door on Demitra’s return.
“We haven’t reached any conclusion, at least in my book,” Keator said.
It’s believed Vancouver is the frontrunner for Demitra. …
– The Wild, I believe, is going to sign defenseman Erik Reitz to a one-year, one-way contract on Wednesday. That means Reitz has a great chance to make the team because he’d have to be paid his NHL salary in the minors and clear waivers to get there.
With Marc-Andre Bergeron here now, the Wild’s blue line shapes up to be Brent Burns, Kim Johnsson, Nick Schultz, Martin Skoula and Bergeron. Reitz will be a No. 6-7 and it’s uncertain when Kurtis Foster will be ready to return from his broken leg. He’s shooting for Nov. 1 and hoping to skate by training camp.
That means the Wild will likely have to acquire one more regular defenseman at least, probably via free agency.
– As for the big-shot Bergeron, I talked to Risebrough twice Tuesday, once before his flight to Toronto for the goalie equipment trimming meetings and once after. He believes Bergeron will be a guy who can play regular minutes, not just a bunch of power-play minutes. He says part of the motivation was to be a fill-in for Foster while he’s out, but “that doesn’t mean it’s one or the other. It will be an improvement to have both when Foster’s back.”
Bergeron has a club option for next year at $1.653 million. The Ducks almost certainly wouldn’t have exercised that. So why didn’t the Wild wait for free agency? Risebrough says other teams were interested in Bergeron, and Brian Burke was definitely going to trade him. In other words, he wouldn’t make free agency, according to Risebrough.
71 Responses to "Wheeler not interested in the Wild"
As a Gopher fan, I am happy to see Wheeler start his career outside MN as I think it will take some time for him to play regularly in the NHL. Best of luck Blake!
It’s great that Blake Wheeler wants to live somewhere other than the Twin Cities, but if he signed with the Wild, he’d live in Houston anyway. The kid isn’t good enough to play for a good NHL team right now.
Yeah I agree, Wheeler is not ready.. and I don’t know how long it’s going to be before he is. I don’t think he will ever be a bonafide star, but who knows?
I know I sound like a broken record but I really do hope that they get a big, gritty d-men in free agency.
I really don’t see PMB being traded at this time unless we do a swap. We don’t have any prospects that others want or we’re willing to deal away and we can’t give away anymore picks.
Also, I was hoping for a veteran d-men to work with Reitz kind of like Carney for Burns and Foster. Maybe Johnsson will have to mentor Reitz then.
As for Wheeler, good luck.
If I were going to be stuck in the AHL for a year or two, I’d want to do it in the northeast where the travel isn’t as brutal as it is for western teams.
This is actually sort of funny. Maybe Blake should worry more about playing hockey and not so much about where he wants to live. Unless he is not think of playing hockey for very long.
Maybe Wheeler wants to play in Europe. That would get him out of the sandbox and down the block a ways.
I’m with you, sunshine. They need to pick up a 2nd-pairing blue liner. I want Skoula to be relegated to spot duty. Bergeron isn’t the guy to do that. Reitz isn’t the guy to do that. Foster isn’t the guy to do that. Why are the Wild stocking up on 3rd pairing defensemen?
American hockey star in Europe, eh? Know what I mean? Know what I mean? Nudge nudge. Nudge nudge. Know what I mean? Say no more…know what I mean?
BTW, this means now the Wild have only four picks left in this year’s draft.
I’m hoping for Kalinin or Hainsey as blueliners. Wheeler is going to be able to choose where he goes, there are a lot of teams stocking right now. Look for GMs that have taken a liking to college guys that have room in their minor league systems. He’s not going to get a huge contract, but he’ll do okay for a first ELC. The Wild sure have given up a lot of draft picks for nothing the last few years, for a team that wanted to build with the draft they sure don’t have anything to show for it.
Boy, letting Fiala go might be a bad move at the moment when we only have 4 picks and really nothing in the cupboards.
I read the Pio’s take on the Bergeron trade and something caught my eye. DR said that he will not negotiate RFA contracts until after July 1st. Can we assume that he will make offers by the RFA deadline and then wait until FA ends before getting into the hard talks with SRV, Foster, and PMB?
In the Pio, DR said that he remembers Bergeron from his Oiler days. I though that was when he was good and he’s been inconsistent since then. If that is the case, we have problems in our scouting department.
I haven’t seen him in any Islanders games but that is what posters have been saying. I don’t know.
I would like to see the Wild get a top line D man too. However, given their exit in the first round (I don’t think it was the defense’s fault) they will not pay top dollar for someone like Redden, Stuart, Foote or Norstrom.
I’d rather overpay (since that is what it will take) for Lankow or Malone since the Wild have so many 3rd line players up front.
If Rolston doesn’t re-sign then use his dough to make a push for Hossa. Maybe get Demitra back (for much less dough) and then Gaborik will have BFFs all around!
Wouldn’t this be a red flag to you as a GM of, say, New York or LA? He wants to see the world, sew his oats, experiment with peyote…good for him.
But I’m paying him to be a professional hockey player and the margin of error with that kind of stuff is pretty thin for most people.
NiNY, or it could be as simple as he’s being whiny about winter and wants to go somewhere warm. Either way, I agree that it isn’t necessarily something you’d want to broadcast. While MN, Edmonton, Calgary may not be in the running keep it quiet and just accept a deal from somewhere you want to go.
ooh…good point, Goody! I hadn’t considered the cold weather angle…south beach, maybe?
NiNY…can you spell m-a-t-u-r-i-t-y???
Ok, so he’s 21…but it’s his agent that is announcing his desire to go elsewhere.
I agree with Kari Takko…he’d be in Houston anyway.
kj: true dat.
On the other hand, I could see where he’d be sensitive to trying not to piss off Minnesotans by saying he doesn’t want to play here. Not sure hiding behind your agent is the way to do that, but I could see how he’d arrive at that decision if that was his intention.
Demitra to Vancouver….please, oh please, oh please….
Wheeler is kinda coming off as a jerk. How do you tell Wayne Gretzky that you have no interest in playing for him? The Gophers will be better off without this clown next year. Outside of his goal against the Sioux he has been a huge disappointment in his time at the U…
I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Wild make a play for Ryan Malone if my Pens let him hit free agency. He’d be a nice fit here…
So I take it the addition of MAB means the Wild won’t take a run at JM Liles, not that they were going to anyhow, I was just hoping they would.
Wheeler was the biggest disappointment since Dave Spehar
You remember all the pre-college hype surrounding Spehar? And why does FSN North play his “story” every other week? He was an embarrassment to the M!
I can’t believe that “where he wants to live” but “not Minnesota” or Phoenix makes much sense. If it’s weather, why not Phoenix? If its a hockey culture, why not MN? What does he want, Edmonton? Calgary? Columbus? I think this is a negotiating move…or he doesn’t want to live in Houston and is looking at NHL minor league affiliates when considering “where he wants to live”.
My guess is he’s heading to Pittsburgh. He can be an entry level guy to replace Malone, Malkin but be serviceable in the shadow of Crosby and Staal.
They have new arena next year. A bit out of the box guess maybe, Just a thought.
I don’t see him ending up in Pittsburgh.
I’m guessing not Pheonix because of thier record. He want’s to play for a competitive team and be warm or have an easy travel schedule or some other thing we can only guess at.
Wheeler was the biggest disappointment since Dave Spehar
That’s just cruel 
- I do hope Blake does a long interview with someone once he signs so we get some idea of what his thought process was. As a Gopher and college hockey fan, I thought Phoenix - which took a risk with Blake at #5 - was very loyal to him unlike, say the Flamers with Kris Chucko. Although it looks like Chucko is doing OK in the AHL - http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=76352
I can understand Wheeler wanting to play outside of the Minnesota. He needs to find a team where he is a good fit and that he has a shot at making the big squad in a few years. Phoenix has a lot of skilled young players; it would be more likely that he never sees the “Yotes” line up if he went there. He probably would be traded in a few years and have no input on where he was sent.
I think Bergeron may surprise us. He has shown flashes of huge potential; JL is very good at developing players like this.
I agree that Wheeler looked to be buried on the ‘Yotes depth chart. They have a ton of young talent, especially at center.
I wonder if any former Gophers currently in the NHL will have an influence of where Wheeler will sign? You’ve got Goligoski in Pittsburgh, Okposo in NY, Potulny in Edmonton…
and, oh by the way, if we were wondering if DR would continue the knee-jerk reactions to try to emulate the Stanley Cup winner….I guess we have our answer.
No way to emulate the Stanley Cup winner. There is not another Lidstrom in the league (maybe on the planet)…
If he is good puck-moving defensemen, meaning able to get the puck out quick and make that first breakout pass, then I am all for emulating the Red Wings. Their D-men were incredible. Their passes out of their own zone.
They didn’t get hemmed in their own zone much at all. They spend more time in the neutral zone than they did in their own zone… well except for some pk time.
That was what was lacking in our D along with being physical.
Just a thought: I was wondering if DR had tried to get MAB at the trade deadline since we got Simon from the Islanders. but was beat by the Ducks.
sunshine: that’s a thought for sure. Maybe we’re going to do a reverse Burnsie with Queen MAB and make him the center we’ve been missing all this time.
Queen MAB..hahahahahahahaha…. I wonder how many people will get that one Nick? Out side of our normally inteligent regulars that is.
Soooo hoping it doesn’t rain tomorrow night. A soggy Bandgeek is not a happy Bandgeek, but to see Boogie I’d stand in the rain, no thunder or lightning however. Thats just dangerous with all those trees in Rice Park. Am I babbleing now. I think I am. It’s very quiet here today. Good thing I brought my iPod to listen to while I read Russo’s on company time. I mean what are they going to do, fire me, lay me off due to budget cuts… oh wait. Sorry the bitterness is creeping out isn’t it? I’ll just go brood now.
NiNY: No way to emulate this year’s Cup winner unless you can find a trio the likes of Zetterberg/Datsyuk/Lidstrom.
bones/deep: I happen to agree…doesn’t mean he won’t try, though. 
Phoenix has a lot of skilled young players; it would be more likely that he never sees the “Yotes” line up if he went there.
The ‘Yotes soured on Blake, and for good reason, imho. Definitely did not progress as they had hoped, particularly as such a high pick. They consistently sent signels to him that he would have very little, if any, chance to make the big squad, which means Blake would have to pack his bags for San Anton’.
So in the end, Blake was willing to forego the big money from PHX to avoid playing in TX (or even in AZ for the SunDogs), for what he believes is the opportunity to sign with (and play for) an NHL team.
So, clearly, his decision wasn’t weather-related. I suggest it was ego-related. I think Blake believes he can find an NHL team that will give him a bona fide shot at making their club.
And so now I ask the Peanut Gallery (aka Russoville): Who thinks Blake will play in the NHL this year? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Didn’t think so.
————-
I read the Pio’s take on the Bergeron trade and something caught my eye. DR said that he will not negotiate RFA contracts until after July 1st. Can we assume that he will make offers by the RFA deadline and then wait until FA ends before getting into the hard talks with SRV, Foster, and PMB?
I believe this is dead on. Look for qualifying offers, then possibly arbitration request from players, depending upon the offer and their eligibility. For SRV, for example, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was for the league minimum.
A hockey blog is no place for Shakespeare, Nick! :-O
Wallshot: au contraire… the Bard abides, my friend! The Bard abides!
Square the “‘Yotes soured on Blake” and they offered him “big money.” But no, I do not believe Blake will be a regular NHL player this year or even next.
What’s the story behind Kris Chucko and the Flames? After seeing him play for a couple of years (we play the baby Flames pretty regularly), I was shocked to learn how high he was drafted. He’s really not very good and didn’t seem to see a lot of minutes. Either that or our taunting rattled him sufficiently and coach had to sit him more than usual in our barn.
I feel sure that Willy would have found ice hockey a most enjoyable activity, either for spectating or participating, had it been bigger in Elizabethan England.
And he would have been all over modern sports parlance.
“Wherefore art thou a Hater?”
“Once more unto the breach, dear friends…”
“Let us to billiards!”
“When words are scarce they are seldom spent in vain” (describing Joe Sakic-type guys)
“Teach not thy lip such scorn…” (decrying the trash talkers)
“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers…”
“The play’s the thing…”
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair…”
Adam,
I should have been more precise.
“Big money” equates to the CBA requirement that the max offers from other NHL teams subsequent to Blake declaring FA would be less than what he could have received with PHX.
PHX “soured” on Blake to the extent that they absolutely would have sent him to the ‘A’ (or CHL!) in order for him to progress to the point where he could challenge for an NHL gig…eventually. (The NHL CBA requires that all Entry Level Contracts be “two-way” deals).
So had Blake signed with PHX, he would have been on the first bus to San Antonio (or, worse yet, Prescott Valley!!!)
The only way Wheeler sees NHL time this coming season is if the team he signs with has injurie problems.
And Nick is right, the Bard would have loved hockey. He did have a character named Puck.
Wheeler will be a bust
If PHX truly soured on Blake they probably would have low balled him in order to get the 35th pick in this year’s draft which they now have. However, I once again agree that Blake is not NHL ready.
If PHX truly soured on Blake
Agreed.
Semantics, at this point. Wayne & Co. insisted Blake go the minors. Blake said, “No, thanks” and headed to free agency.
(The ‘Yotes depth of young forwards didn’t help Wheeler, either.)
——-
Hey NiNY,
How ’bout a Bards version of “He shoots, he scooooooores!!?
bfw:
“By the flicking of his thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.”???
(okay, it’s a reach, and I had to go to the world wide web for it.)
I thought this was a hockey blog not english class…
To me Blake is not ready now and shows the potential to be third-fourth liner anyway. Don’t we have a whole roster full of players like this in Houston?
Big D, that was certainly my POV on Wheeler… sounds like the makings of another Irmen to me. No harm in giving him a shot at a reasonable price, but I wouldn’t have had terribly high hopes. Especially considering it sounds like he feels he deserves to be in the NHL right away. And we know how well that attitude works out, right, Benoit?
Wallshot, I think WS was a huge Maple Leaf fan.
I do not fault Blake for using whatever leverage he has to get to the best situation he can find.
But, that is not the same as him getting to the NHL. He may or may not make it.
Your are astute ms.conduct says. It seems to me that the short track to the NHL is for any prospect to burn a league up.
Make yourself so visible there is no choice but to find an NHL spot.
“By the flicking of his thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.”???
lol!
Nice work.
Quite a bit OT, but I stumbled upon an old sampling of the Redline Report regarding Wild draft pick Julien Sprunger (from ‘04). Pretty funny!
The Brad “Quicksand” Marsh Trophy
(Slowest-footed players in the draft)
1. Julien Sprunger — We’ve seen better skating in a women’s mud-wrestling pit. Come to think of it, we’ve seen better everything in a women’s mud wrestling pit.
bfw: I’m thinking John Candy…Stripes… good times.
NiNY,
Hilarious! Good times, indeed.
Or Blue in Old School. Classic.
Or Blue in Old School. Classic.
FTW
Fletcher, unable to trick someone into becoming Toronto GM, will retain job for now.
huh…let me try that link again:
http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080611.wsptleaf11/GSStory/GlobeSportsHockey/home
Looks like the Reitz deal is done. Just got an email from the Aeros about it, though it doesn’t disclose terms.
Russo, can you confirm it’s the 1 year, 1 way deal?
So Reitz is going to get a chance in Minnesota. Is this going to be anything like Foy’s chance with the big club last season?
Elizabethan England? Wow. It must be the offseason.
As for Wheeler, we’re all stocked up on Gopher hype in Houston. I’m pointing at you Mr. Irmen.
Gosh, I hope it works out better for Reitz than it did for Foy. I’d love to see him stick in the NHL even if it’s just as a 5-6 d-man.
Gopher Hype FTW….
FOOD!!!!!
Fletcher, unable to trick someone into becoming Toronto GM, will retain job for now.
DR’s name included in that article. Interesting…
Does anyone else see the fact that Todd Fedoruk is out on the road tour as a sign that the Wild are working to resign him? Just a thought… completely off topic.
According to the NY Post, Wheeler visited the Devils and Rangers the past few days.
