EDMONTON, ALBERTA - Fans are so confused at how quickly Wild 16-year veteran Keith Carney has fallen from Jacques Lemaire's graces, some have suggested "Free Carney" T-shirts.
One game after being benched because of a hooking penalty and playing only 3 minutes, 25 seconds, Carney was scratched for the eighth time this season Thursday against the Oilers. In the 10 games Carney has played, he has averaged only 10 minutes, 56 seconds.
"I still feel I can play, so that's frustrating, when you feel good, you're healthy," Carney said. "The more it happens, it's definitely harder. Especially when you get older, you don't have many years left. You'd like to play as much as you can."
When Sean Hill's suspension ends after tonight's game in Vancouver, the Wild will have eight defensemen. Carney knows he's on the verge of becoming an everyday extra defenseman.
Carney is 37. He's in the last year of his contract. If he rides the pine the rest of the season, his career very well could come to a sad end.
General Manager Doug Risebrough said he's not looking to trade any defensemen. But asked if he would consider moving Carney, a guy 33 games from the 1,000-game milestone, to give him an opportunity to continue his career, Risebrough said, "Yeah. I'm not planning on that, but I think I've always demonstrated that I'd move somebody to give him an opportunity. But I wouldn't trade [Carney] at the expense of the team."
Asked if he's concerned about his career and would like to be traded, Carney, who has a career plus-161 rating, said, "The more it happens, it's harder to play on. It's harder to get another deal if you're not playing, but I also know I like our team, I think we have a chance to do some good things, and I'd like to be a part of that. So you just work hard and hope for the best."
Risebrough said Carney looks like a different player than he was last season, but "some of that difference no doubt is he hasn't played as much, no doubt he hasn't played with [Brent] Burns as much.
"But we have to keep giving ice time to players that we think are contributing more immediately."
Carney always has been a character player, a team guy, but Risebrough was asked if he's worried Carney will handle being a seventh or eighth defenseman well.
"I don't think anybody handles it well. It's not an easy thing to handle," Risebrough said. "Do I think he'll accept it? No. I'm glad he won't accept it. Do I think he'll understand it? Somewhat. But it's not really his choice. And I think he's respectful enough to understand that."
Lemaire avoids talking about Carney, one of the players he relied on the most last season. He says his job is not to talk about players who aren't playing well: "My job is to protect them."
As for his decision to bench Carney in Calgary on Tuesday, Lemaire said, "I thought he had a slow start. He got beat a couple times and then he took a penalty they scored on, and that was enough for me.
"Every goal is important because we don't score a lot. So where do you stop?"
Veilleux plays
Lemaire wanted to give Stephane Veilleux another game off Thursday, but the winger begged in despite a broken cheekbone. It was a good thing.
Looking like a peewee player in his "bird cage," Veilleux picked up right where he left off a week ago. He caused havoc all night by stealing pucks and screened Dwayne Roloson on Martin Skoula's goal.
Michael Russo • mrusso@startribune.com
wild/nhl
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