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Bouchard on Wild years: ‘It was a great run’

Pierre-Marc Bouchard

Minnesota Wild’s Pierre-Marc Bouchard skates during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings in Los Angeles, Thursday, April 4, 2013. The Kings won 3-0. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

AP

Pierre-Marc Bouchard spent 11 years with the Minnesota Wild and as a free agent this summer found a new home with the New York Islanders. Spending that long with one team makes saying goodbye hard, but he does so with a heart filled with warm memories.

Michael Russo of the Star Tribune hears from the guy called “Butch” and how he’s thankful for his time with the Wild.

“It was a great run,” said Bouchard. “Eleven years with one team, it was a great run. Just getting drafted by that team in the first round and making the playoffs my first year there. It was a fun run to get to the conference final [in 2003]. We won the division [in 2008]. Every time we made the playoffs, it was always a fun time to play in Minnesota in front of our fans...

“Minnesota will always be a special place for me.”

Having good times like that to hang his hat on make moving on difficult. Now he’s off to an Islanders team that’s young and poised to make more noise in the East.