A winner has been declared in the Thomas Vanek sweepstakes this free agent frenzy day. The Minnesota Wild have rights to that title for the next three years at $6.5M per season. They were the team everyone knew from when Buffalo traded him to Long Island in where he wanted to go.
Vanek has certainly been a little bit of a journeyman in the past nine months. He started the season with the Sabres and was trade bait for what seemed like forever. Then came the October 27th trade to the Islanders for Matt Moulson and a couple of draft picks. The Islanders then dealt Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens in the final moments of the trade deadline for a few draft picks in what seemed like a desperate move by Isles GM Garth Snow. All told, Vanek through his three-team season had 27 goals and 68 points in 78 games played. In the playoffs, he had 10 points in 17 games.
Vanek through his career has been a consistent 25+ goal scorer, topping out at 43 in 2006-07. He’s a point producer and a difference maker and will be a consistent threat for his new club. In the playoffs however, Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien questioned his commitment to the team and had him playing fourth line minutes. There was speculation that he was injured but Vanek assured everyone that he was not following the Canadiens loss to the New York Rangers. This is not the last of Vanek’s issues, as he was allegedly involved in partying with the rest of team Austria during the Winter Olympics the night before a game. Outside of his past issues, Vanek on the ice is still an impressive top line forward that can contribute right away. His price tag was hefty last year with a cap hit of $7.1 million, and it is no different with this deal.
All in all, it was a price that had to be paid to sign the best free agent forward on the market, and Vanek will provide the dividends. He’s just touched 30 years of age, but he has plenty of 25+ goal and 70 point seasons left. The big question will be health. Health is always a concern with a lengthy contract like Vanek’s, but that’s the risk you have to take to get an impact player into the lineup. When Vanek’s at his best, it is certainly fun to watch, and with a lengthy deal where he can feel comfortable knowing that he will be playing there for a while, we might see more of him at this stage. All deals have their risks, this deal included, but in the NHL, it’s the risk a team takes for increased success.
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