Wild goings-on; No on offer sheets; No on 'Mo'

Good morning (now afternoon) from Russeau's Chateau. I am having unbelievable phone problems right now, so I'm in a mood. Going to work for a new phone in a bit.

For the first time since the schedule was released June 22, I actually studied it a bit yesterday. I like the schedule. Very home friendly early, some great road trips, which I know is purely selfish.

But it's all about me. Speaking of which, since I travel with the Wild, I recommended to the Wild:

-- With no games between Nov. 6-11 (at Columbus and at Atlanta), instead of coming back to Minnesota, the Wild goes for some "team building" in New York.

-- With no games between Dec. 4-9 (at Dallas and at Phoenix), instead of coming back to Minnesota, the Wild goes for some "team building" in Las Vegas. Just perfectly located between the cities.

-- With no games between March 14-17 (at Vancouver and at San Jose), the Wild goes for some "team building" in Napa. Actually, I'll probably go there regardless, so this isn't as important as the previous two.

I made these suggestions to the Wild brass. The Wild brass wasn't as receptive as I would have wished.

The Panthers were 25-24-17 before the trip (March 13,1999). By April 10, 1999, the Panthers were 27-34-18.

Yes, they went on a 2-10-1 slide. On a positive note, I made a fortune in blackjack.

Just a couple items for you all.

1. As the Wild preps down at 317 Washington for the opening bell of free agency Thursday, there are a few other items they're working on.

1A) Working to get some of its two-way contract minor-leaguers re-signed. This won't be hard and most should be announced in the coming days.

2. Guillaume Latendresse. They're getting closer on a contract for the restricted free agent. As of yesterday, it wasn't yet completed and ready to be announced, but both sides feel they're making headway.

3. No, the Wild's not trading for anybody's rights. No, the Wild's not taking any of the buyout guys off waivers. Yes, that includes Patrick O'Sullivan. I'm just amazed at the emails I get on this. It's like fans want anybody on the scrap heap today. The Wild has a few roster spots open. It can't sign anybody. There's a reason these teams dumped these players today.

4. I keep on getting questions about offer sheets. First of all, the Wild doesn't own its second-round pick anymore, so it is completely impossible for the Wild to sign anybody to an offer sheet between roughly 3 and 5 million bucks (don't know exact until July 1 because the cap's gone up since original CBA). The compensation for that includes a second-round pick next year, so the Wild would have to re-acquire the second it traded in the Chuck Kobasew trade to even make it happen. And they're not doing that.

As for offer sheets above 5 million -- Bobby Ryan -- I just don't see the Wild willing to fork over four consecutive first-round picks -- nor do I think they should. The Wild should not hand over four first-round picks for anybody. It's not like the Wild's overflowing with prospects. They just can't afford to do that. Plus, it's a contentious process, and usually the only thing you do when you hand over an offer sheet is negotiate the matching contract for the other team.

I'm not saying the Wild wouldn't love Bobby Ryan. They would. But the only way the Wild would even entertain getting Bobby Ryan would be in a trade, not an offer sheet.

6. Here's a really funny wild.tv piece produced by Glen Andresen and Travis Brillowski.

7. As you know by now, Mike Modano's career -- playing career, at least -- with the Dallas Stars is over. Here's the story.