Wild finds no quick fixes on trade deadline day

SAN JOSE, CALIF. - One of these days Olli Jokinen is going to slip on a Minnesota Wild sweater for real.

Those have to be the odds considering all the energy the Wild has expended trying to acquire the goal-scoring centerman the past few years.

While the Wild won't confirm what "major deal" it was involved in until Wednesday morning, sources say General Manager Doug Risebrough continued his longtime quest for Jokinen, the former Florida Panthers captain who was ultimately traded from Phoenix to the Calgary Flames.

In the end, Wednesday's trade deadline came and went with the Wild, whose season is heading south after four consecutive losses, doing nothing while a number of teams it's chasing added significant pieces.

"Ultimately what you're seeing is this is the team and the addition is [Marian] Gaborik coming back, hopefully soon," Risebrough said before flying to California to join his club. "There's quite a few games left. We're going to have to regroup here. There's still lots of points out there, and we have to go after them."

At last year's draft, Jokinen, 30, was traded to Phoenix after the Panthers rejected a trade offer from Minnesota that ultimately included Pierre-Marc Bouchard. Instead, the Panthers wanted James Sheppard.

With Jokinen again on the market, only this time with Phoenix, Risebrough again pursued the four-time 30-goal scorer, who has one year left on his contract at $5.25 million. But according to sources, Risebrough scoffed at dealing a young player off his roster and/or a first-round pick. The Coyotes turned their attention to Northwest Division-leading Calgary, which traded Matthew Lombardi, Brandon Prust and a first-round pick for Jokinen.

Asked if the "major deal" he says he was entrenched in involved Jokinen, Risebrough declined to comment.

"I'll just say we were willing to look at our players with the exception of our younger players," Risebrough said. "How do I know that's the right way to go? The counteroffers are usually with those guys. When you make a proposal and you're saying, 'Here's what I'll do,' and their counter back is usually your young guys, you know it's the right thing not to do."

Risebrough said the Flames' deal involving young players and a first-round pick "is a reflection of the timing of their team."

"You can understand spending it when you're that close," Risebrough said. "When you're not that close, you can't do it or else you'll be caught forever."

Risebrough admitted he refused to trade his first-round pick. "Just look at today," Risebrough said. "There was one first-round pick moved in a big deal on [Jokinen]. Two years ago, it was first-round picks moving for guys whose contracts were ending [Keith Tkachuk, Ryan Smyth and Peter Forsberg].

"You just can't get that anymore. That whole matrix of what the price is has moved down. What was a first-round pick value is now a second-round pick. What was a second-round pick is now a third-round pick. You can't find top prospects moving either."

So, since the Wild refused to trade its most elite players, its top young players, its first-round pick and no longer owns its second- or third-round picks, its trade deadline maneuvering was limited.

Last weekend, Risebrough said he'd consider trading one of his unrestricted free agents, such as Stephane Veilleux or Marc-Andre Bergeron.

But Wednesday, Risebrough said: "I didn't find a fit. I wasn't going to do it at all cost."

So to be blunt, as coach Jacques Lemaire said Wednesday, "This is our crew and we'll go with the crew."

Risebrough denies that he has shopped around the injured Gaborik, who can become a free agent, but sources say he has been in play in trade talks all along.

Lemaire said Gaborik will have to be that "shot in the arm" Risebrough has talked so much about.

"Something tells me that he might be skating with us when we get back, so that would be a positive," Lemaire said. Asked if "something" tells him that or "someone," Lemaire said, "Someone."

Still, the Wild doesn't get back until Monday. Even if Gaborik practices, it's uncertain when he'll actually be able to play. The Wild is sinking now and somehow must find a way to salvage this road trip.

"This is the time of year where you see the good teams. It's not a good time to lose four games in a row," center Eric Belanger said. "We have to make sure we don't slip more than we're doing right now. A lot of teams got better, and a lot of teams are thinking they have a chance to go in the playoffs and win. These are the guys we have to go with."