ST. PAUL -- The Minnesota Wild will open their fourth season Wednesday night in Chicago with high expectations but without two of their best offensive players.
Both Marian Gaborik and Pascal Dupuis are still trying to negotiate contracts with the team. The pair combined for 25 percent of the Wild's offense last season, which ended in the Western Conference finals.
Defenseman Willie Mitchell tried to put a positive spin on the contract disputes.
"Good teams have players who hold out and get it settled," Mitchell said. "For us to have a couple of guys like that, it means we're getting to be one of those teams."
But being "one of those teams" comes with baggage.
After watching last season's playoff run, fans and media will demand success. Personnel decisions have become more prickly.
In Gaborik, the Wild are missing more than just their top point producer. He is their most dynamic player, capable of taking control of a game and bringing spectators to their feet every time he touches the puck.
Even if Gaborik and Dupuis were signed for the season, it would not guarantee the Wild a return to the postseason. But with the duo's combined 50 goals and 113 points on the sideline, and protracted standoffs a growing possibility, the Wild could be wheezing by Halloween.
"I don't think they survive without Gaborik," said Ron Low, pro scout for the Edmonton Oilers. "He's streaky, but when he's on, look out. When he's in the lineup, it changes the other team's checking factors because they have to pay attention to him whenever he's on the ice.
"If he's not there, maybe Dupuis gets the attention. When you're talking about both of them being out, that's a huge hole."
With 18 goals last season, Andrew Brunette is the Wild's leading returning scorer. He will have to shoulder more of the offensive burden, along with veteran Sergei Zholtok and second-year center Pierre-Marc Bouchard.
"We're not kidding anybody. Marian and Pascal are important pieces to this," Brunette said. "But we have a lot of good leaders in here. It's going to be hard, but we really have to try to plug that hole."
Publicly, the Wild are putting up a strong front, stressing the team concept that made them so difficult to play against and the envy of many coaches and general managers around the league.
"Should 23 guys go home and pray for Marian and Pascal to be here? No," winger Richard Park said. "We're professionals, and it's going to be on us to step up our game."
On the eve of his team's season opener, Coach Jacques Lemaire finally acknowledged the absence of his big guns after deflecting questions about them throughout training camp.
It was in response to a general question about this team, whose work ethic always has been its most endearing trait.
"Even though our top scorers aren't here, I have the same feeling as I did last year. I like what I see," Lemaire said. "They're working, they're serious. It never stops, caring about the team and working to improve. That's what we had before."
Both Marian Gaborik and Pascal Dupuis are still trying to negotiate contracts with the team. The pair combined for 25 percent of the Wild's offense last season, which ended in the Western Conference finals.
Defenseman Willie Mitchell tried to put a positive spin on the contract disputes.
"Good teams have players who hold out and get it settled," Mitchell said. "For us to have a couple of guys like that, it means we're getting to be one of those teams."
But being "one of those teams" comes with baggage.
After watching last season's playoff run, fans and media will demand success. Personnel decisions have become more prickly.
In Gaborik, the Wild are missing more than just their top point producer. He is their most dynamic player, capable of taking control of a game and bringing spectators to their feet every time he touches the puck.
Even if Gaborik and Dupuis were signed for the season, it would not guarantee the Wild a return to the postseason. But with the duo's combined 50 goals and 113 points on the sideline, and protracted standoffs a growing possibility, the Wild could be wheezing by Halloween.
"I don't think they survive without Gaborik," said Ron Low, pro scout for the Edmonton Oilers. "He's streaky, but when he's on, look out. When he's in the lineup, it changes the other team's checking factors because they have to pay attention to him whenever he's on the ice.
"If he's not there, maybe Dupuis gets the attention. When you're talking about both of them being out, that's a huge hole."
With 18 goals last season, Andrew Brunette is the Wild's leading returning scorer. He will have to shoulder more of the offensive burden, along with veteran Sergei Zholtok and second-year center Pierre-Marc Bouchard.
"We're not kidding anybody. Marian and Pascal are important pieces to this," Brunette said. "But we have a lot of good leaders in here. It's going to be hard, but we really have to try to plug that hole."
Publicly, the Wild are putting up a strong front, stressing the team concept that made them so difficult to play against and the envy of many coaches and general managers around the league.
"Should 23 guys go home and pray for Marian and Pascal to be here? No," winger Richard Park said. "We're professionals, and it's going to be on us to step up our game."
On the eve of his team's season opener, Coach Jacques Lemaire finally acknowledged the absence of his big guns after deflecting questions about them throughout training camp.
It was in response to a general question about this team, whose work ethic always has been its most endearing trait.
"Even though our top scorers aren't here, I have the same feeling as I did last year. I like what I see," Lemaire said. "They're working, they're serious. It never stops, caring about the team and working to improve. That's what we had before."
