Toward the end, almost everything you heard about former Wild defenseman Marek Zidlicky with negative. His time in Minnesota ended with a midseason trade to the New Jersey Devils, who are now playing in the Stanley Cup semifinals, tied at two games apiece with the New York Rangers after their Game 4 victory on Monday night.
And a key to their success has been Zidlicky.
A few days back (before the Islander tied the series, in case you're doing the math), Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Journal wrote a story headlined: "Devils wouldn't be seven wins from the Cup without Marek Zidlicky."
In the story, Devils GM Lou Lamoriello says: "We didn't view his conflict in Minnesota as anything negative about him as a player or person. That's where the knowledge of him from someone who coached him, like Dave Barr and Jacques Lemaire, was important. There was no hesitation."
In Monday's game, Zidlicky led all players in ice time with more than 24 minutes.
"He's been really important," said Devils star Zach Parise, a potential free agent whom Wild fans have to hope isn't spending much time talking to Zidlicky about life with the Wild.
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