Wild needs a center, and homegrown Cullen fits bill

From the Strib...

Wild needs a center, and homegrown Cullen fits bill

Minnesota has pursued the strong-skating, two-way player before.

By MICHAEL RUSSO, Star Tribune
Last update: June 30, 2010 - 11:26 PM

Maybe three times will be a charm for the Wild and Matt Cullen.

For the third time in Cullen's career, he will become a free agent when the clock strikes 11 Thursday morning. For the third time in Cullen's career, the Wild -- in need of a center -- is expected to pursue him.

The Wild couldn't lasso him the previous two times, but the team might have a better chance this go-around.

"To be honest, at the point I was at four years ago, I don't think I could have handled playing in Minnesota," said Cullen, a former St. Cloud State standout who played in three consecutive boys' hockey state tournaments with Moorhead in the '90s. "But just growing and maturing as a person and a player, to the point of having a young family now, I think I'm at a good spot where I can handle it and excel there.

"Definitely every guy from Minnesota thinks about playing for his hometown, home-state team. It's something I'm very interested in. But at the same time, I understand a lot of things would have to fall into place and a lot of different pieces would have to fall into place. But Minnesota is a very appealing team for me."

Still, it's not a guarantee the Wild can sign, seal and deliver him.

Cullen, who previously signed as a free agent with Carolina (2004) and the Rangers (2006), should be of interest to a number of teams.

But Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher must also be cautious with how much money and particularly years he commits on the free-agent market. He hopes Mikko Koivu can be signed to a long-term extension, that Pierre-Marc Bouchard can return from a concussion and that first-round pick Mikael Granlund can join the Wild next year.

So while Cullen might have options, the Wild might also court other centers looking for shorter-term deals such as Olli Jokinen, Vaclav Prospal, Manny Malhotra, and possibly Saku Koivu, if the Wild captain's brother has a change of heart and suddenly wants to play with his kid bro.

The Wild is likely to sign one defenseman during the free agency period. While the team is expected to seek a modestly priced blueliner, it might inquire about Minneapolis resident and former Gopher Paul Martin.

Martin, 29, who had 163 points in 400 games with the Devils, is a high-end, puck-moving, smart defenseman. But he also could command $5 million a year and will entertain several suitors.

Martin, who says he's old enough to handle the distraction of being a hometown guy playing at home, is interested in the Wild, but it's hardly a shoo-in.

"It'd come down to if they're competitive in their interest in me and if it'd be a good spot for me," Martin said. "I'm not 100 percent on board to just go to Minnesota or to go anywhere, really. It will come down to a lot of different factors, as far as winning, the city and a lot of other things, like the term."

If the Wild takes a crack at Martin and actually lands him, the signing would almost certainly have to accompany an eventual trade.

The Wild has $14.1 million of salary-cap space invested into Marek Zidlicky, Brent Burns, Nick Schultz and Cam Barker. Zidlicky has a no-trade clause. Fletcher has talked to several teams about his defensemen, including Boston, New Jersey and Anaheim.

But the bigger priority is at center. At 33, Cullen -- who has scored 169 goals and 461 points in 880 games -- is a strong-skating, two-way center. He's a quality penalty killer, can win faceoffs, contribute on the scoresheet (averaging 46 points the past five seasons) and play the point on the power play.

He would also bring 63 games of playoff experience and a 2006 Stanley Cup on his résumé with the Hurricanes.

If the Wild can't sign Cullen, the team could try to sign Jokinen to a short-term deal to buy some time for a longer-term solution or Granlund's arrival.

Jokinen, 31, is coming off a 15-goal season with Calgary and the Rangers after scoring 200 goals the previous six years (33.3 a year).

Jokinen realizes he might have to sign a short-term deal and said: "I think I'm at a point in my career where I still want to prove it and definitely be that bounceback guy next year, and be back in that top-20 scoring in the league. There's no doubt in my mind that I can do it."

At the Olympics, Jokinen said he heard nothing but good things about playing in Minnesota from fellow Finns Mikko Koivu, Niklas Backstrom and Antti Miettinen.

"It's one of those teams you hate to play against, that's for sure," Jokinen said. "They have good goaltending over there, they have a good No. 1 center over there with Mikko. It's sold out every game, you know? You want to play [in] places like that."

Notes
• The Wild agreed to terms with its most important restricted free agent Wednesday night. Left wing Guillaume Latendresse, who scored a career-high 27 goals last season -- 25 after being traded to the Wild -- agreed to a two-year, $5 million contract.

• The Wild re-signed defenseman Nate Prosser to a one-year, $650,000 deal and winger Matt Kassian to a two-year, $1.025 million deal. Prosser would make $105,000 in the minors next year; Kassian $60,000.

Posts : 1218 Join date : 2009-09-22

one guy i'd take a swing at at like 800-900k maybe a 1.8mil 2 year deal is Ryan Potulny, no not because of gopher reunion but because the kid has shown some damn good skills and is willing to shoot and shoot a lot. He could be a bandaid, guy that might blossom into a 2nd line center, but could play on the 3rd line. Hell i'd consider adding him no matter what.

But Cullen would fit well with Havlat and Lats, they need a hardworking physical guy who's defensively responsible.

Posts : 1 Join date : 2010-09-01

In 1950, the Black Hawks stimulated from a barber shaft emergence in their black NHL jerseys to a red jersey with an Indian cranium on facade. This is the beginning of the authorized NHL commodities we notice coupled with the Black Hawks of nowadays. It was in 1955 that the Bruins became the foremost lineup to pioneer the color gold in their NHL jerseys.

Thanks
smith mark
horly

http://www.jerseysstoreonline.com/

check it folks, we have an official spammer.

Maggie with jerseyinstock at least posts in the thread I created which is fine. But coming in here on my site, and bumping a thread in hockey talk shooting your website all over? i don't fuckin play that.

we have our first official banning!

Wild needs a center, and homegrown Cullen fits bill 519528

Wild needs a center, and homegrown Cullen fits bill 519528

Posts : 309 Join date : 2009-10-13 Location : Phoenix

You banned her? Her jersey's are cheap!

no, smithmark is banned, maggie is not.

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