A couple of tweets from the Minnesota Wild’s end-of-the-year media availability:
Dubnyk: "this is where I want to be. ... I'm not going to look elsewhere if I don't need to." Obviously depends on negotiations tho. #mnwild
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) May 11, 2015
Pending UFA Devan Dubnyk reiterates he wants to remain with #mnwild. "We'll do everything we can to make it happen," he said.
— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) May 11, 2015
We wrote about Devan Dubnyk on Friday. Yesterday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman added his two bits as well:
Now that the season’s over, it’s time for Devan Dubnyk and the Wild to have a serious conversation. Does Dubnyk take a slight discount because he’s found a great fit? My bet is Minnesota wants to get this done for somewhere between $4-$4.5M, but would anyone be surprised if Dubnyk, at the apex of his earning potential, goes for $5M? Does Minnesota offer longer term — and more overall money — in exchange for a lower AAV? That might be the solution.
Also remember that Dubnyk doesn’t have unlimited options here. There are only so many teams looking for a starting goalie. You can probably count them on one hand. There’s Edmonton’s, but it’s hard to see him going back there. San Jose’s another, but it’s hard to see 1) the Sharks outbidding the Wild in a big way, and 2) Dubnyk picking San Jose over the place where he salvaged his career and wants to be.
The big question is what GM Chuck Fletcher decides to offer. Again, as we wrote Friday, there is significant risk in locking up a goalie for big money and term. Goaltending is unpredictable. One year they can’t stop a beach ball, the next they’re a Vezina Trophy finalist. (See: Dubnyk, Devan).
How does three years at $4.5 million per sound?