Wild owner nervous, but not about franchise

Anybody who has spotted Craig Leipold in the owner's suite every single night knows this is one wound-tight nervous wreck during Wild games.

He doesn't hide his emotions from the "Team of 18,000," yet his long history as an NHL owner says one thing: He doesn't meddle.

In nine years owning the Nashville Predators, he had one coach, Barry Trotz, and one general manager, David Poile, and he plans to continue that stability in Minnesota.

During a state-of-the-team sitdown with the Star Tribune on Friday, Leipold, in his first season as the Wild's owner and self-described No. 1 fan, made clear that Doug Risebrough's job is not only safe but that the only GM in Wild history is here for the long haul.

Leipold endorsed the way Risebrough does business and said he loves Jacques Lemaire's defensive system as long as the Wild wins. Leipold said signing Marian Gaborik still is possible, and he'd be surprised if the Wild doesn't sign Niklas Backstrom.

And Leipold expects the Wild to not only make the playoffs but also to make a run for a second consecutive Northwest Division crown.

Still, Leipold admits that he's had "a lot of sleepless nights," because, just like all fans, he's riding the ebbs and flows of a stressful, emotional roller-coaster-of-a-season in the tightly packed Western Conference.

"I don't know why it seems like this year has been a very, very intense year," Leipold said. "It seems more intense than any other year I've had. ... It just seems like it's been an unusually difficult year."

'I like our position'

After a 6-0-1 start to the season, a 10-loss December has put the Wild on a seesaw, teetering between sixth and 11th in the conference from day to day. But Leipold said he still thinks the Wild is in "a pretty good spot."

"I'm looking at this team on the ice right now, and I look at where we are relative to what I would consider the seven or eight teams we're competing with, and we're better than those teams," Leipold said. "It's my hope that we make it. And I think Gaborik's going to be back in the end. I think that's going to help us. It's going to give us a little bump. I like our position."

Off the ice, the Wild's top priority is working on a contract extension for Backstrom, 30, an All-Star goalie who can become a free agent this summer.

"Negotiations are going on," Leipold said. "We like Nick Backstrom. He's a great goalie in this league. We want to have him here. He wants to be here. Hopefully we're going to work it out. That's really all I know. I would hope that we could get Backstrom signed, and I'd be surprised if we didn't."

Backstrom said Friday, "Nothing's going on. Time will tell."

Backstrom is an extremely valuable asset. If the Wild is unable to sign him, Leipold was asked if the Wild might have to consider trading him even in the thick of a playoff race.

"That's Doug's role and responsibility," Leipold said. "He'll do what is best for this franchise in the long term, not just for the last 20 games."

The biggest quandary is not so much Backstrom's salary but term. With the worldwide economic downtown, NHL revenues are expected to decrease next season, meaning in two years, the current $56.7 million salary cap is expected to drop significantly.

So the Wild must weigh how much it can invest in Backstrom while also being able to afford its top young players and pay a scorer, such as Gaborik, or an elite replacement.

And yes, Leipold still maintains he has high hopes that the Wild can re-sign Gaborik rather than trading him by the March 4 deadline.

"Our only intention was re-signing Gaborik. It is still our only intention," Leipold said. "Unfortunately the injury caused everything to shut down. It's our hope that we'll still re-sign him. I think he'd like to play here. We're not done yet."

One wonders if the Wild's interested in signing Gaborik to a short-term deal. However, there is still clear acrimony between the two sides. Gaborik's agent, Ron Salcer, attended Saturday's Wild practice, stood 8 feet from Risebrough and the two never made eye contact.

Salcer said there's been no conversation between himself and the Wild.

Risebrough's staying put

Leipold prides himself on running a stable franchise and not making knee-jerk personnel and managerial decisions. While Risebrough keeps Leipold abreast on trade talks and player negations, Leipold said he stays out of the hockey ops' business.

"I don't get involved in player or coach decisions. And I feel real good about having earned that reputation," Leipold said. "I let Doug know really early on that if he asks me, I will give him my opinion. And if I ever thought that he would make his decision based on what my opinion is, I'll stop giving it to him. And I would be very disappointed. ... He knows more than I'll ever know about this game."

Asked whether Risebrough's job is safe if the Wild doesn't make the playoffs, Leipold said, "Oh yeah. Doug's fine. This is his team. He's built it. Let's be real honest: It's been disappointing that Gaborik's been hurt. You see how close we are in this race. Gaborik by now would have been worth 25 goals and 50 points.

"How many games does that win us? And if the answer is just five games, that puts us ahead of our division right now."

In April, Lemaire considered retirement after the Wild's second consecutive first-round exit from the playoffs. Leipold said he doesn't know if Lemaire still is considering retirement, but as a fan, he said he doesn't believe the Wild's in need of a change of style.

"This is only about winning," Leipold said.