Pierre-Marc Bouchard grew into a man in Minnesota.
Just look back at his 2002 draft photo. A junior star at Chicoutimi, Bouchard was a kid — an 18-year-old with a full head of blonde hair — when the Wild snatched him up eighth overall.
Bouchard built a family here, including his daughter, who was born in Minnesota. But after 11 years, 565 games, 347 points and four playoff appearances, Bouchard is finally, with mixed emotions, moving on after signing a one-year, $2 million deal with the Islanders on Friday.
Bouchard, 29, was the last Wild player still on its roster who played on the 2003 club that advanced to the Western Conference finals and captured the hearts of a hockey state.
"I'll miss Minnesota," Bouchard said during a telephone interview Sunday. "I really will. Knowing that I'm not coming back to Minny for training camp, it is kind of weird, but at the same time, it's part of the business, and I'm really looking forward to a fresh start with the Islanders."
In a lot of ways, he is returning to the scene of the crime. Bouchard was developing into one of the NHL's best playmakers when the Wild signed him to a five-year, $20.4 million contract just before an arbitration hearing in July 2008.
But on March 25, 2009, Bouchard was run hard in the corner of the Islanders' Nassau Coliseum.
"That's true. [Nate] Thompson," Bouchard said.