Sykora takes to new team right away

Despite a four-hour drive to Prague, a flight to Amsterdam and a cross-Atlantic journey on Tuesday, Petr Sykora practiced with the Wild on Wednesday afternoon.

Yes, there were signs of jet lag, but Sykora, one of the NHL's most consistent goal scorers for a decade, filled the back of the net and was so vocal you would have sworn he'd been hanging with his new teammates for years.

"I never had a problem ... being friendly with the boys," said Sykora, 32, a 300-goal scorer who has potted 20 or more goals for 10 consecutive seasons. "I've been like that through my whole career. Whenever I get to practice, when I know I should have scored a goal, I let myself know.

"I like to smile. When other guys make a good pass or score a nice goal, I like to clap on the boards and have some fun out there."

It was a humbling summer for Sykora, who couldn't find a job despite scoring 25 goals last season with the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. The problem was he was scratched for much of the postseason.

"Obviously last year's playoffs didn't help, but I felt it was one of the best seasons I actually played," said Sykora, who's won two Stanley Cups and played in five Stanley Cup Finals. "I had 10 winning goals last year, which is the best I ever had."

Instants from signing a lucrative contract in Russia, Sykora settled on a "tryout" with the Wild after rejecting a few contract offers last week. The reality is 20-goal scorers don't grow on trees, so Sykora, after a few immigration hurdles, should be a genuine Wild player soon.

Sykora has been skating the past three weeks with HC Kometa Brno of the Czech Elite League. He thought he was going to play a game Tuesday until speaking with Wild GM Chuck Fletcher, whom he knows from his days playing for Anaheim and Pittsburgh.

"I was going to the airport, and instead of going east, I changed gates and I was coming west," joked Sykora. "New era here, new GM, new coach, I think new style, too. I think we're going to see quite a bit of offense, speed, a lot of nice goals. I think the fans can be excited."

Sykora refuses to make excuses for last season. But after scoring 23 goals -- 14 on the power play -- through February, Sykora inexplicably fell off the map.

The truth is he was playing with a Grade II shoulder separation, something he never told the media and the Penguins wouldn't acknowledge because of their injury policy.

Sykora continued to play despite being severely handicapped. At times, he could barely hold his stick. Finally, coach Dan Bylsma removed him from the lineup. He played only seven playoff games before breaking his foot in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

When healthy, there's no doubting Sykora's ability to score. Wild fans may sadly remember Sykora, then with Anaheim, scoring the double-overtime winner in Game 1 of the 2003 Western Conference Finals. But he's got one of the sport's most lethal one-timers, too.

"He's a guy that can find that soft spot in the zone, and this guy's got as good a release point as anybody in the league," veteran Andrew Brunette said. "He's dangerous any time in that open slot and he's got a little room."

Sykora said Wednesday this is the healthiest he's been in a long time. Put him with a playmaker, perhaps Pierre-Marc Bouchard, and it could be special.

"I'm not going to go out and score 25 goals. I need the players who will give me the puck," Sykora said. "When I went through the lineup, there's a few guys here who can feed the puck. I think without those players, goal scorers can't get chances.

"My game is pretty simple. I like to shoot the puck, and I would like to be on the power play. I shoot the puck on power play [107 career power-play goals]."

That's what coach Todd Richards likes to hear.

"So many times you watch guys come down the ice and they're always looking for that pretty play, and it's nice to have those passers," Richards said. "But you also have to have the guys that are willing to shoot the puck."