The free agency  period started for the NHL yesterday and the Wild went to work right away.

First they brought back one of the Wild's first heroes when they signed Andrew Brunette from the Colorado Avalanche.

Brunette isn't one of the fastest skaters you'll ever see but he's great around the net in particular on the power play.

He'll also improve team chemistry which I believe was a major issue last year.

Next they acquired defenseman Marek Zidlicky from the Predators but paid a steep price by giving up rookie Ryan Jones who was a Hobey Baker candidate at Miami last year and a 2nd round pick.

With Jones' size and skills, he'll be a solid player in the NHL for a long time.

Zidlicky is supposedly an offensive defenseman who is great on the power play. He's also been described as occasionally shaky in his own zone.

He sounds like another Martin Skoula or Kim Johansson to me.

Late last night they signed winger Craig Weller who was described as a rugged forward. Other than that I don't know anything about him.

It wasn't all good news for the Wild though yesterday.

Brian Rolston singed with his original team the New Jersey Devils after initially being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning a few days ago.

I have to say I'm surprised that Rolston won't be back with the Wild.  He was a solid forward and I thought a good team guy. 

He apparently was asking for more than the Wild was willing to pay.

Risebrough gambled and got burned by not signing Rolston during the season.

Pavol Demitra appears to be the next out the door with Vancouver his most likely destination.

Demitra definitely underacheived here in Minnesota and I believe was a major cancer in the locker room.

Risebrough has a huge decision to make on Marian Gaborik this offseason.

Does he pony up and sign Gaborik or risk losing him next year as a free agent.

I believe if the Wild lose Gaborik through free agency or via a trade they will lose a lot of credibility with their die hard fans.

Wild fans have been incredibly patient with Risebrough and his staff but their patience is starting to wane.

At some point all this talk of building a consistent winner has to turn into results on the ice.

 

Discussion about a Vikings stadium has begun again, this time centering around Minneapolis.

I believe the Vikings will eventually either end up remodeling the Metrodome or tearing it down and building a new stadium on the same site -- similar to what happened in St. Paul when the Xcel Center was built at the site of the St. Paul Civic Center.

Currently the problem with remodeling the Metrodome or building a new stadium on that site is that the Vikings would not have anywhere to play while construction is underway.

That problem will be solved when the University of Minnesota opens its new stadium in 2009 which is 2 years before the Vikings lease runs out.

The Vikings could play at the Gophers stadium until their new stadium was finished, much like the Bears did when they played at the University of Illinois while Soldier Field was renovated.

The biggest advantage that Minneapolis has over the other sites such as Blaine is that the necessary infrastructure is already in place.

Adequate highway access along with the light rail system, which will most likely expand, are already available.

The other sites would need millions of dollars to improve roads and other infrastructure in addition to the money already needed to build the stadium.

I doubt that the legislature would approve building a new stadium in the suburbs once building in downtown Minneapolis becomes a viable option.

It'll be interesting how this story unfolds over the next year or two.