Wild win 4 out of 5, then deal Arnott

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Minnesota has picked up 8 points out of the last 10 available, but that still left them 5 games out of the playoffs. On that note, GM Greg Dockus decided it was time to pull the trigger to affect some cost savings and get some help down the road.

On that note, he dealt Jason Arnott and UFA to be Aaron Ward to Philly for a combination of picks and prospects. At first, the deal was originally to be high scoring OHL defenseman Paul Ranger, 2 2nd's and 3rd round pick. But the prospects and picks may change due to a league ruling of Jason Arnott's RFA/UFA status. Regardless, Minnesota has basically decided to, once again, wait til (at least) next year.

"We figured to be really up against it to re-sign Jason after next year. We have younger guys who will need new contracts and we know Jason will want $5-6 million a year."

Players like Therien, Ronning and Cullen are available for teams to make that playoff push.

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Following the trade of their best center, the Wild continued to play good hockey. They played in LA, losing a 3-2 game, then followed that up with a 5-3 win over the Oilers. Martin St Louis, Matt Cullen and Ladislav Nagy all have stepped up in Arnott's place.

The Wild are still only 9 points out of the last playoff spot with a game in a hand. While the opinion here is that they won't make the playoffs, they are coming together as a team right now, and anything is possible.

Greg deVries must like it in Minnesota as he signed a 4-year deal with the Wild right before the Oiler game. The deal is for around $13 with bonuses added in. This leaves Chris Therien and Cliff Ronning as pending UFA's.

 

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After the league ruling, the deal has been altered to the following:

Jason Arnott
Aaron Ward

For

Alex Perezhogin
Phil 2nd 2004 (Becomes 1st if Phily wins The Cup in 2004)
Flo 3rd 2005

"We are grateful that Claudio was willing to go back and make the changes," said GM Greg Dockus. "He is a very fair man, and should we not make it to the finals this year, we will be rooting for them not only for the chance of getting their 1st rounder, but because of his fairness. He is a good man.

Oh yea...we LOVE Perezhogin"