No arbitration hearings for Wild

Today, it was announced that the Minnesota Wild have avoided arbitration entirely with their stable of players. The Wild only had two players that even had the chance of ending up in an arbitration hearing, with each player going there in a different way.

Kyle Brodziak elected to take the Wild to arbitration, and was rewarded with a 3-year, $3.45M contract. Brodziak's contract should ensure that he's with Minnesota for a while, as he helps shore up their weak center position. Brodziak's route to arbitration was a calculated risk that he could get more from the team than what was expected, which may have paid off for him.

Meanwhile, Josh Harding was sent to arbitration by the Wild itself, possibly a similar risk by the team as to the one that Brodziak took. Harding signed with the Wild for a one-year deal, reportedly in the $1.1M range. Of course, if Brodziak's contract could be construed as a way to keep the center with the Wild for a while, what does a one-year contract for Harding say?

In many ways, the Wild have been grooming Harding for a trade since before Draft Day. With the acquisition of Wade Dubielewicz, Minnesota currently has three goaltenders, and, it could be argued, two starters. Harding has become the odd man out, and a one-year contract could be the Wild's way of saying, "Keep your bags packed", since any trade would allow the new team to negotiate an entirely new contract, without any carry over.

By the same token, only having a one-year contract could keep other teams away, because Harding may get looked at as a "loaner" player. Without a longer contract, he may not have the incentive to resign with any team that lands him, and may pursue free agency once his year runs out. You can bet that he'd get a good look from the other 29 teams in the league.

Of course, there's always the chance that the Wild signed Harding to a one-year deal to keep them from arbitration, and as a bit of a precaution in case Niklas Backstrom either falls apart, or suffers a severe injury. But, if that's the case, Chuck Fletcher may just be the most cautious GM ever, and his pursuit of players like Martin Havlat and Nick Leddy seems to indicate otherwise.