Marian Gaborik's return: Drama's gone, but so are goals

Like clockwork, around 9ish every New York Rangers game night for the past month, the BlackBerry started buzzing with emails and Twitter comments.

"FYI, Marian Gaborik got another goal."

"Make that two. Owns the league lead."

"Gaborik just got No. 8. That's OK, at least we got back, ... Oh wait, dang."

"Gaborik, No. 1 star. But we didn't need him."

There's no hiding the first month of the Chuck Fletcher/Todd Richards regime was as successful as a grouse staring down the barrel of a shotgun, but, boy oh boy, the hockey gods sure had a good laugh at the Wild's expense.

As the Wild keeps losing (it is 3-9), Gaborik keeps scoring (10 goals), although in a fitting twist of irony, Gaborik's St. Paul homecoming is threatened tonight because of that oh-so familiar "lower body" injury. He hasn't skated since Monday.

But let's be honest: Gaborik's fast start under the Broadway spotlight was as predictable as a rush-hour traffic jam through the Lincoln Tunnel.

If you're a disgruntled, Gaborik-loving Wild fan who plans to spend the next five years keeping one eye on the Rangers, you're going to give yourself an aneurysm by January.

Gaborik, tied for second in the NHL with 10 goals and third with 18 points, is an incredible talent. From a goals-per-game standpoint since the lockout, Gaborik's name can be uttered in the same breath as Alex Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk. The only thing that's impeded Gaborik from becoming a true superstar is that dirty five-letter word that starts with "G" and ends with "roin."

But that's why Fletcher was in an impossible position last June.

Some Wild fans are upset Fletcher never made Gaborik an offer, and maybe he should have offered Gaborik a contract just so he could have said no.

But put yourself in Fletcher's shoes: Gaborik's slick agent, Ron Salcer, who had a history of warfare with the previous regime, calls and says negotiations start at the 10-year, $78.5 million contract Gaborik turned down the previous fall.

You've been GM one month. Gaborik's been here 108.

All you know is that Gaborik is a gifted goal scorer who's as prone to injury as anybody who ever has played this sport. He has missed 121 games the past four years. He's coming off a season in which he missed 65 games.

No new GM would put his career on the line by giving a decade-long contract to a player with that type of history. Remember, after Gaborik was sidelined last season, many believed the Wild dodged a bullet when he turned down that contract in the first place.

There also seems to be a misconception by some that the Wild opted to sign Martin Havlat to a six-year, $30 million deal in lieu of signing Gaborik to the five-year, $37.5 million deal the Rangers gave him. There is no chance the Wild could have signed Gaborik to that contract before July 1.

Free agency is an appetizing thing for a player. Look at Brian Rolston. He left, and he made it much clearer than Gaborik ever did that he wanted to stay.

The reality is both sides needed a fresh start. The Wild, and many fans, had grown tired of the injuries. And Gaborik never was treated by yesteryear's Wild like the star he was or wanted to be.

But with that said, the Wild now doesn't possess a player like Gaborik, a bona fide, lethal, game-breaking star.

Superstars don't grow on trees. While there are exceptions, such as the Rangers snatching up Gaborik, superstars are nearly impossible to acquire. The only free-agent superstar available next summer -- as of now -- is Atlanta's Kovalchuk.

In most cases, stars are home-grown draft picks, which is why it's imperative the Wild starts developing these players. The Wild has nothing coming in the near future as far as skilled forwards. Nothing.

This is a franchise that has managed to draft and develop arguably one top-six forward since 2002 -- Pierre-Marc Bouchard -- and three in its history -- Gaborik, Mikko Koivu and Bouchard. It botched the 2004 first-round selection of A.J. Thelen, and it appears the Wild flubbed the 2005 and 2006 drafts with Benoit Pouliot and James Sheppard.

That's why even though it will be painful for the Wild and its fans, losing, real losing, has its benefits. It won't be fun, but a high draft pick next summer will help the Wild rebuild. This team needs an influx of young talent. It needs to develop another Gaborik.

Gaborik wasn't perfect. He had defensive deficiencies. He often was injured. He might even have been "one-dimensional." But he possessed the dimension teams need: He scores goals.

And as often is the case, you don't realize what you're missing until it's gone.

Michael Russo mrusso@stasrtribune.com