I was a little disappointed when I saw the Fritsche trade only because I could have looked really smart today. Yesterday, when I saw that Krys Kolanos was placed on waivers, I saw right under it that Dan Fritsche cleared waivers.

And I almost wrote on the blog how he’d interest a lot of teams, including the Wild, but most teams don’t want to take players off waivers anymore. They’d be more likely to call that team up the next day and offer a player for him so it could drop some salary and preserve some salary-cap room.

That’s what happened today with the Wild. GM Doug Risebrough was interested in the Rangers center yesterday, but he didn’t call GM Glen Sather, one of his best friends, until this morning to see if he could swap Erik Reitz for him (sorry for the delay on the blog, but I had to travel and catch practice. Just wait to the trade deadline when I’ve got to travel, too).

Fritsche has a cap left of about $344,000 (prorated 875K), but instead of taking the whole thing, the Wild drops about 197K of Reitz’s 500K. That extra space could prove valuable at or near the trade deadline.

This is a swap between two oft-scratched guys in need of a bigtime fresh start. Dan Fritsche’s connecting in Minnesota and due into Edmonton around 11 p.m., but I got him on the horn before his flight out of New York. He was ecstatic. He had played one game since Nov. 30. He’ll play a third- or fourth-line center role here, although he can play wing, too. He’s a hard worker, but fell out of favor in New York, which is much deeper up front than the Wild.

“In fairness to [Krys] Kolanos,” Risebrough said, “his skill level is probably a little higher for that role. His physical makeup a little light for that role. For this kid (Fritsche), we see him as a grinder. I don’t like to limit people and say what they can’t do, but right now that’s what he’s going to do.”

I always thought Fritsche played well against the Wild when he played with Columbus. I talked to former Blue Jackets GM Doug MacLean today, and he’s a huge fan of Fritsche. He thought he’ll be a solid player for the Wild. He called him a “heart and soul guy.”

MacLean took a bit of slap shot at Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock, saying, “Hitchcock didn’t like him, but there’s not many young guys he liked. I mean, Hitchcock didn’t like Mike Richards, so keep that in perspective.”

Reitz is 26 and was always going to be an extra here. Fritsche is 23, a veteran of 222 games, has won a world junior championship with the U.S. and a Memorial Cup. And the Wild is thin at center after Benoit Pouliot fell flat and Kolanos fizzled.

Plus, Risebrough said, “We’ve got to get younger.” (I’ll pause for heads exploding).

And we continue:

Fritsche will make his debut against the Oilers wearing an extra number the Wild trainers carried in their trunks. He’ll eventually wear No. 49 here. The Wild was trying to ship a jersey to Vancouver.

As for Peter Olvecky, he had a great practice today, coach Jacques Lemaire felt, after doing “nothing” in training camp, Lemaire said. But Lemaire hadn’t decided yet if Olvecky will make his NHL debut against the Oilers. Risebrough did say he wanted to see what Olvecky could do in games while he’s here, so that debut should eventually come.

I talked to Reitz. He was excited for the new start, but he said he’d miss that bond he made in Minnesota. After all, he’s been part of the organization since 2000.

That’s it. Later.

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