Unsigned Gaborik set to play in Slovakia

[Shell]

Unsigned Gaborik set to play in Slovakia
TSN.ca Staff
9/1/2003

With Minnesota Wild training camp set to get underway next week, restricted free agent Marian Gaborik remains unsigned and ready to play in the Slovakian Elite League.

Under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, players can suit up for their former team for up to nine games before the NHL season begins. Gaborik is in Slovakia and is ready to take to the ice with his former club, Dukla Trencin on Thursday.

"Marian has not been invited to camp," Gaborik's agent, Allan Walsh told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "He does not expect to be in training camp unless a contract is done."

Gaborik's entry-level contract expired after last season, an incentive-laden deal that netted the star forward close to $10 million over three years.

"In Marian's case there's no doubt he has shown us the potential to be a good player," Risebrough said. "But I've said all along, I want a good team, not a good player."

Another team could sign Gaborik to an offer sheet, at which point the Wild would have five days to match or receive five first-round draft picks in compensation.

[cmw00]

Ah, come on JR and PK! Just open up alittle wider! I'd like to see a O'Neil-Francis-Gaborik first line, or Cole-Brind'Amour-O'Neil first line with francis and gaborik on the second with sombody, that way all the big scorers can play their natural side. Just think with a guys like Gaborik and Cole, then add Staal if he is half as good as people say he will be, We'd have an allstar line for years!

Its a shame this guy can't get a job in the NHL, he's been here 3 season, and the last 2 were 30 goal, 65+ point seasons! Apparently he wants way to much money I'm guessing....

[StormShaman]

Ah, come on JR and PK! Just open up alittle wider! I'd like to see a O'Neil-Francis-Gaborik first line, or Cole-Brind'Amour-O'Neil first line with francis and gaborik on the second with sombody, that way all the big scorers can play their natural side. Just think with a guys like Gaborik and Cole, then add Staal if he is half as good as people say he will be, We'd have an allstar line for years!

And our farm system would be even more hosed than it was after the Whale acquired Wesley from the Bruins.

Yeah. That'd be such a great deal for us.

[nccanes]

As an RFA, I don't think it matters much what PK and JR do anyway.

[cmw00]

Well you figure that 1 in 5 first round draft picks make it to a good NHL player status or higher(actually its much worse than that), I'd swap 5 picks for the 1 Gaborik. Even with having to pay him his contract to.

I don't think Minnesota is gonna keep him, unless that is Gaborik decides to take a pay cut.

[tommy]

So Minnesota just doesn't want to cough up the money he's asking for? This whole CBA thing really needs to cleanse the NHL...

*moves to take Gaborik off of auto-draft list, before he ends up on my Yahoo team*

[StormShaman]

Well you figure that 1 in 5 first round draft picks make it to a good NHL player status or higher(actually its much worse than that), I'd swap 5 picks for the 1 Gaborik. Even with having to pay him his contract to.

Uhhh.... no.

I'm sorry, but NO player is worth buggering up the farm system by giving away five first-round picks. NOBODY.

[Jeff O Rocks]

So what is up with so many players wanting to stay home in their native country and play. Is this pretty normal??? :spin:

[Guyute]

wow, big loss for the Wild....

[Cool Hand Luke]

Well you figure that 1 in 5 first round draft picks make it to a good NHL player status or higher(actually its much worse than that), I'd swap 5 picks for the 1 Gaborik. Even with having to pay him his contract to.

Uhhh.... no.

I'm sorry, but NO player is worth buggering up the farm system by giving away five first-round picks. NOBODY.

I agree with CMW, there are not many players worth 5 first round picks but Gaborik along with Heatley might be two guys that are. This kid is a rising superstar and was leading the playoffs in scoring with 9 goals while the Wild was still in them. It wouldn't shock me to see some team like the Wings make a stab at him if the Wild can't sign him.

If we can trade the Bruins 3 first round picks for Wesley, then Gaborik is sure as hell worth 5!! :D

[StormShaman]

I agree with CMW, there are not many players worth 5 first round picks but Gaborik along with Heatley might be two guys that are. This kid is a rising superstar and was leading the playoffs in scoring with 9 goals while the Wild was still in them. It wouldn't shock me to see some team like the Wings make a stab at him if the Wild can't sign him.

If we can trade the Bruins 3 first round picks for Wesley, then Gaborik is sure as hell worth 5!! :D

Pardon my being blunt, but you're both out of your freaking minds.

Forget for a moment what Glen has brought us--that trade screwed our farm system for years afterward, and we only gave up three first-rounders in that one (two of whom, btw, became Joe Thornton and Sergei Samsonov)--the aftereffects of that trade were felt even after the move from Hartford, and the damage still hasn't been fully repaired. Any complaints to this day about minor-league depth can be traced in large part right back to that trade.

To give up 5 first-round picks for what amounts to a crapshoot is the single most idiotic move that a GM could make.

No team will sign him unless it's the Wild, because no team is willing to do that kind of hideous damage to their farm system. I guarantee you that.

[cmw00]

No offense either, but your not much of a gambler are you???

Lets see, you'd rather take 5 chances of getting somthing like Gaborik instead of trading those 5 chances for Gaborik? If I were a GM and I wanted Gaborik on my team I would gladly give up 5 first round picks for him. This guy is awesome and is gonna be for many years to come! I guraantee you that with 5 of our first round picks, we'd never draft sombody like him.

And the farm team doesn't win stanley cups!

[talkingcanes]

I agree with Cam. You can't mortgage the future for the present. Those draft picks would not be for one draft. So for how many years are you willing to not have a 1st round pick for Gaborik. There are no guarantees that any one player is going to be the answer and in the meantime, you've given away your future (at least as far as 1st rounders). If this deal had been made last year, we wouldn't have Staal.

I think JR would be an idiot to even consider it especially with the CBA expiring. The farm teams are going to be very important coming out of a work stoppage. The farm team doesn't win the Stanley Cup, but neither will the Hurricanes if there is no one on the farm worth calling up when needed or as players retire.

[StormShaman]

No offense either, but your not much of a gambler are you???

On the contrary, I am a gambler. I am a very good gambler. I also know when I'm looking a sucker deal in the face.

Lets see, you'd rather take 5 chances of getting somthing like Gaborik instead of trading those 5 chances for Gaborik?

I'd rather have the depth that those five first-rounders represent than giving them up to another team for one Marian Gaborik. I believe in stable long-term development rather than short-term "win now" (see "Devils, New Jersey" vs. "Rangers, New York")--and I'll take depth over immediate help any day.

If I were a GM and I wanted Gaborik on my team I would gladly give up 5 first round picks for him.

You're a fool if you do that, in my opinion and the opinion of every GM in the NHL. If I were Doug Risebrough I would be absolutely salivating at the idea of being able to take advantage of such a one-sided deal.

This guy is awesome and is gonna be for many years to come! I guraantee you that with 5 of our first round picks, we'd never draft sombody like him.

If giving up 5 first-rounders to get ONE guy was such a great deal for the team getting the one guy, then it would stand to reason that there would be GMs lining up right and left to sign Gaborik to an offer sheet and then hoping that the Wild don't match it. Not even Mad Mike Milbury is stupid enough to bend his own team over like that.

And the farm team doesn't win stanley cups!

No, it only provides some much-needed depth for your team and provides a place to develop your young players (see "Cole, Erik" and "Malec, Tomas"). :roll:

[Guyute]

This guy is awesome and is gonna be for many years to come!
agreed. I watch him just as often as I watch any other player in the league, and I have for the past few years.

I guraantee you that with 5 of our first round picks, we'd never draft sombody like him.
We haven't even seen Staal play in a game yet. Who's to say he's not 10x the player Gaborik is? And what if we dealt that pick away, along with a bunch of others... ?

look, the ENTIRE drafting/trading process is a crapshoot. But I'm with Cam. RARELY will you see a player worth 5 first round picks.

One that would come to mind? Brodeur... about 6 years ago.

[Cool Hand Luke]

First, I think it was a huge mistake trading 3 first round picks for Wesley, but that's Wesley. (and actually one of them was not Joe Thornton, just FYI). A question, would you trade 5 first round picks for the next Gretzky? Not that I'm saying Gabby is, but he might be closer than anyone else will be for awhile.

Let's see where our past 5 first round picks are previous to this year. Tanabe, Tselios, Knyazev are all history anyway. Cam Ward looks like to be the real deal, but he's years away. Then we have Heerema, who they are threatening to trade if he doesn't shine this preseason.

Superstars are worth more than winning Cups, they put fans in the seats, they sell tickets. They bring in TV revenue and sell merchandise. Gaborik could be of that caliber. I might be out of my mind, but I would think long and hard about making him an offer if I was a GM. My earlier point about Wesley was that if our GM could whacky enough to make that deal, some other GM will probably "be out of his mind" and make some type of grab at Gab. JMO.

Give me some odds and I'll bet ya someone does if the Wild don't. :)

[StormShaman]

My earlier point about Wesley was that if our GM could whacky enough to make that deal, some other GM will probably "be out of his mind" and make some type of grab at Gab.

Actually, no. The Wesley trade showed how broken the system was (and the insane offer sheet that we signed Fedorov to(1) some years later) showed how broken the current system is. No GM is going to go after Marian Gaborik, especially this close to the expiration of the current CBA.

(1)That offer was made for one reason only, btw: to tweak the nose of Wings owner Mike Ilitch.

[Shell]

Pardon my being blunt, but you're both out of your freaking minds.

Sorry, little late here but just want to remind everyone that you are free to your own opinions but when it is opinion against opinion, please do not resort to personal blows. Thanks you.

[Cool Hand Luke]

Pardon my being blunt, but you're both out of your freaking minds.

Sorry, little late here but just want to remind everyone that you are free to your own opinions but when it is opinion against opinion, please do not resort to personal blows. Thanks you.

That's okay Shell, there are a lot of us that are out of our minds out there, and I didn't take it personally. I've certainly been called worse. *L* Here's a link to another discussion where so far, the majority of posters might be out of their minds as well. By the way, since Gabby has played for Minny, they have sold out nearly every single home game, (123 in a row, currently). Think the streak will continue if they allow him to walk away?

Here's what one person says, whom I agree with.

SHRED..... Being a player agent myself [of course none of the big boys in the NHL], your comment is severly lacking in knowledge. Player agents try to barter for the money that the PLAYER wants. We have very little control in the matter. If a player deems himself worth $10M a year [like fedorov] then the job is to get his or another team to pay that much.

As far as Gaborik, he is the franchise, and I bet many teams would be willing to cough up the picks for him as long as they will be picking late in the first rounds [ie. detroit, colorado, NJ etc]
Gaboriks market value should be in the $4M range, and this was only his 3rd pro season.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=52521&hubName=nhl

[jhardman]

I tend to agree with the sentiment that no GM is going to make a big long term deal for a superstar caliber player this close to a CBA renegotiation. there are too many risks, and JR has set up the team (my opinion) brilliantly for the worst-case scenario. (If we have to play with replacement players in 2004 most of those players for the Canes will have name recognition in this local market. ex. the Kurkas and Ziggies of the world)

I also agree that there are a few players worth making such a leap for, like Gaborik or Heatley or one of the top 5 other young stars in the game. Some team may indeed do that, but it will be a perennial winner with big $$$ like Detroit or Colorado because they can afford to make trades to get back equivalent level picks in the upcoming drafts.

But 99% odds say this - the Wild re-sign Gaborik to a one year deal.

[StormShaman]

SHRED..... Being a player agent myself

I'd take that with a large block of salt, myself. I've been around enough boards and newsfroups to know that when somebody's engaging in credentialism like that they're usually either a) full of it or b) full of it and trying to bluff.

Trust me--unless his rights are traded, nobody but Minnesota will sign Marian Gaborik.