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I have touched on the fact in my last two posts that the Minnesota Wild are going to have a lot of money to spend, but I don’t think the Wild will be able to land either of the top two free agents.This puts the Wild in an uneasy situation that all too many teams go about solving by overpaying for the wrong free agents.

The problem, of course, is that the current list of the top free agents is filled with the wrong type of free agent. They need offense above all else. Someone that can score goals on their own, or set up Dany Heatley or Mikael Granlund, either from the blue line or as a forward. Additionally, this is a team that would like to stay young. Minnesota is not a team looking to make one solid push for the postseason. There is enough youth that they need to make an extended run in playoff contention.

There isn’t much by way of young, offensive players out there. Jiri Hudler and Matt Carle (assuming, again, that Alexander Semin is going overseas). I can’t imagine Hudler going anywhere if Zach Parise stays in New Jersey, and that’s what I have predicted. Matt Carle is a good fit in Minnesota, though of course, there have been no rumors about that, and Carle is just as likely to stay in Philadelphia.

Who does that leave? Maybe Dennis Wideman to take over on the blue line as a puck moving defenseman. At forward, the best remaining fit would be PA Parenteau of the New York Islanders, who was a solid puck mover himself on Long Island. A lot of that was aided by the emergence of Matt Moulson and John Tavares.

Wideman and Parenteau are decent players, but hardly the marquee names that the Wild are looking for this offseason.

Ice Insiders Chris Berry Interactive Chris Berry Interactive