I think so.

I talked with Andrew Brunette this early evening, and he’s interested in returning to Minnesota as you can read in this article. The Wild isn’t permitted to talk about potential free agents, but I think the team is interested in Brunette returning.

So this could very well come into fruition.

If you watched Brunette the last three years in Colorado and in the playoffs against the Wild, you know he can still play the game at a high level. Brunette could be a positive addition, not just on the ice, but in a locker room that’s going to definitely lose Keith Carney and Sean Hill, and almost certainly Brian Rolston (see below post), as well as Todd Fedoruk – four beloved veterans. The Wild will need Brunette’s type of character.

I never covered Brunette in Minnesota. He left the season I came, but I feel like I’ve covered him because the stories are plentiful. The guy was loved inside that room, and you can bet he’d be a welcome addition with guys like Nick Schultz and Marian Gaborik.

I’ve also been told by friends of Gaborik that Brunette’s return would make for a happier Gabby. Does that get him to sign on the bottom line? I’d say there are other key issues at hand, but Brunette and Gaborik are pals.

Here’s, by the way, the last passage of the Brunette story that needed to be trimmed for space:

“I looked through the teams the other day and the Wild is as close as anybody in the West to making a real push,” Brunette said. “There’s a lot of young talent there, and within a year or two, I think they have the right pieces in place.”

Plus, if Brunette returns, all will be forgiven with his wife, Lorie.

“I don’t think she’s still gotten over leaving Minnesota,” Brunette quipped.

I’ll write more about free agency Tuesday, but I see the Wild going after a top-four defenseman, if not via free agency, but via a trade this summer.

Besides Brunette, I also think it’ll try to go after another “impact” forward if it loses Rolston. And like I wrote in the below post, Rolston appears to be a goner. The sides still haven’t talked, and it’s gotten so close to July 1, as one NHL player said to me today, “Now he might as well wait and see.”

I think the Wild definitely has interest in Ryan Malone if he gets to free-agent status (Tampa owns his rights now, and is going for the full-court press by hiring Malone’s dad, Greg, as a scout, I hear), but I think his price will be sky high. They definitely will be pursuing other impact guys, but again, and I sound like a broken record, this free-agent class is pretty porous.

All 30 teams are going to go after the same five or six impact forwards and the same five or six “top four” defensemen. If the Wild swings and misses, I see them trying to improve later in the summer via the trade route rather than throwing a bunch of cash at lesser quality players.

In other words, maybe try to trade a second-round pick for a top-four D with two years left on his contract rather than signing a marginal No. 4 to a five-year, $15 million deal.

OK, Bye bye.

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 28th, 2008 at 8:59 pm and is filed under Main. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.