Wild waits, wonders about Walz

By Michael Russo, Star Tribune

Last update: November 6, 2007 - 12:07 AM

It might be premature, but even coach Jacques Lemaire talked about Wes Walz in the past tense Monday.

The 37-year-old center has been excused from the Wild since Wednesday, which has led to speculation that he is contemplating retirement.

"He found his niche here playing a very good defensive game," Lemaire said. "He took pride in that, playing against top lines and trying to shut them out. He's a guy that was finishing as a plus [player] at the end of every season, which tells you a lot about him. Guys like that, a lot of coaches want."

But like most inside the Wild, Lemaire is unsure what is going on with Walz, who could not be reached for comment Monday.

Assistant general manager Tom Lynn hopes to know more about Walz's future today. Lynn declined to comment, but the Wild, which is paying Walz, might suspend the veteran.

"I want to know if I can help," Lemaire said. "But if I cannot help, I'd like to know where he's at, how he's doing. But it doesn't seem like a lot of people know."

Oilers coach Craig MacTavish is surprised about Walz's absence.

"What's going on there? There must be something else to this?" MacTavish said. "[When I retired], I wasn't leaving the rink saying, 'See you later boys.' ... I guess comedically that idea runs through your mind, but for a guy like Wes, who's still playing well and still playing lots, I just don't see him quitting like this."

Asked if Walz's game has taken a step back, Lemaire said, "A little. But last game he played (4-2 loss to Pittsburgh on Oct. 30), he played one of his good games. Maybe he didn't start as good as he did in the past, but he played some good games."

In Walz's last game, he went head-to-head with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (Walz was on the ice for two goals against and lost 13 of 16 faceoffs). But Lemaire felt Walz limited the speed of the Penguins stars.

"You're going to quit because those two guys do a number on you? They're pretty good against everybody," MacTavish said. "Heck, there might only be eight coaches left if we all decided we couldn't coach against Crosby and Malkin.

"To me, [Walz] can still win faceoffs, and he can still skate. When we got Michael Peca [in 2005], I remember saying, 'Finally we've got a matchup for Wes Walz.' He'd hurt us for a lot of years. He'd come out pretty favorably in a Doug Weight matchup, and against Mike Comrie it was the same story."

Gaborik sits out

After scoring three goals and five points in two games last week, Marian Gaborik was named the NHL's Third Star of the Week. But this is a new week, and Gaborik missed Monday's game because of a sore groin.

"He wanted to skate [Monday] morning, but he's sore and we told him not to," Lynn said. Gaborik missed two games last week because his groin was sore.

There's no timetable for left winger Pavol Demitra (groin), who replaced center Dominic Moore (abdominal strain) on injured reserve. If Demitra is able to play the Wild's next game, Sunday at Colorado, he can come off IR.

Moore has been medically cleared, but he didn't feel he could play Monday. Matt Foy played, but with no other forwards, Lemaire played seven defensemen against the Oilers.

Defenseman Petteri Nummelin played forward, assisting on Mark Parrish's two power-play goals, one in the first period and one in the second.

Michael Russo • mrusso@startribune.com

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