Forsberg plan foiled; now what?

With the free-agent star not ready to return to the NHL, Wild GM Doug Risebrough will pursue other options for help at center.

By MICHAEL RUSSO, Star Tribune

Last update: February 19, 2008 - 12:21 AM

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These days, it doesn't matter who skates on a line with Marian Gaborik, the Wild star has been soaring.

But boy, the red-hot Gaborik was sure hoping he and Pavol Demitra could be bookends to future Hall of Fame center Peter Forsberg.

"It would be unbelievable, a dream," Gaborik said early Monday. "It would be awesome. Everybody would be pumped."

Less than an hour later, Forsberg's agent, Don Baizley, called the Wild to inform the team that Forsberg had decided not to return to the NHL this season. After putting months of time, effort and surgery into fixing his congenital foot problems, Forsberg wasn't confident the issue was a thing of the past.

Reached Monday at the general manager meetings in Naples, Fla., Wild GM Doug Risebrough wouldn't comment on Forsberg. But knowing Forsberg's intentions enables Risebrough to jump into trade talks as next Tuesday's deadline approaches.

Risebrough said his focus Monday was trimming goaltenders' equipment. Risebrough, a giant proponent of this, said he and several other GMs have come up with recommendations and plan to make a presentation today.

"So personally, I didn't touch base with too many guys about [trades]," Risebrough said. "But that's next on my list."

The Wild lacks depth at center and ranks 30th in percentage of faceoffs won. Asked if he must acquire a center, Risebrough said, "At this time of year, you're looking for more depth, but I wouldn't say for a specific need."

Forsberg was Plan A. Risebrough now moves on to Plan B. Last month, Risebrough conveyed interest to Florida GM Jacques Martin regarding captain Olli Jokinen, but the Panthers are four points out of a playoff spot and would want a huge amount for Jokinen.

Another option could be Edmonton's Jarret Stoll, a potential restricted free agent who's having an off year but has a cannon for a shot and ranks 11th in the faceoff circle.

As for unrestricted free-agent center rentals, some include Columbus' Sergei Fedorov and Michael Peca (17th-ranked in faceoffs), Atlanta's Bobby Holik (third-ranked in faceoffs) and St. Louis' Ryan Johnson (21st-ranked in faceoffs).

Risebrough likely would wait until closer to the deadline when prices might drop.

"Last year, when we disembarked from here, there wasn't one trade made," Risebrough said. "Will that change? I don't know. But typically, we wait until the very end."

In the meantime, the Wild, 11-4-2 in the past 17 games, was quite giddy at Monday's loose practice, which was fresh off Gaborik's OT winner Sunday against Nashville.

Heading into tonight's divisional clash with Vancouver, Wild coach Jacques Lemaire said Gaborik, who has 14 goals and 28 points in his past 22 games, is playing the best hockey of his career since the two had a meeting last month following Lemaire's public cry for Gaborik to "work harder."

"You know what, maybe it was the 520th time that we sat down," Lemaire said, laughing. "At a time, it clicks in. A guy gets more mature, understands more. Maybe he was afraid of his production. But since he's been back-checking, he's been scoring more."

Gaborik agrees he's playing maybe the best all-around game of his career.

"I knew that I could play better and do something different," Gaborik said. "But Jacques and me had some talks, and it's always good to hear some stuff from the coaches. It's always good to communicate."

The team still needs to tighten up defensively. It has given up eight third-period goals in the past three games and has blown two-goal leads in the past two games. The Wild is 52-1-1 the past two seasons when leading after two periods, but video coach Matt Shaw showed Lemaire three clips of mistakes the Wild made Sunday when up by two goals.

"He says it's things that we don't do except when we have a lead," Lemaire said. "Then when they come back, we tighten up again. We did find a way to win, but we can't play like that.

"We want to be cute. Instead of getting a shot, we'll curl, look for the D that comes in, which is not really our game, and then they intercept, they come back and score."