2014 NHL Free Agent Busts: Return to Sender

Nov 16, 2014; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward

(26) against the Winnipeg Jets at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild defeated the Jets 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Thomas Vanek ($6,500,000/year, 3-year contract)

What happened to this guy?  It’s no secret he ended up with the Minnesota since everyone in the hockey world except Garth Snow knew he had his eyes on the Wild all along (despite reports the Islanders offered him $50 million over seven years to ride shotgun to John Tavares).  But any dream scenario that he’d return to the area where he played his college hockey, riding in on a white horse, have quickly been erased.

Through 30 games Vanek has scored only four goals to go along with his 14 assists.  One of those three goals was on the power play, so by most people’s math, that means he’s only scored twice at even strength.  He’e playing 16:38 a game and over three minutes on the power play a night, so he’s had plenty of opportunity to get going offensively.  Most night’s he’s been invisible.  Last year he put up 68 points while bouncing between three different teams.  This season he’s on pace for less than 50 points.

The Wild currently sit fifth in the Central Division, albeit with a few games in hand.  The team advanced to the second round of the playoffs last year, and the addition of Vanek was supposed to give them another elite option up front in a loaded Western Conference.  The offense has been middle of the pack, and if things don’t turn around this season, it’s not as if the Wild are flush with cap space to make a lot of moves next summer.  According to capgeek.com they have over $60 million committed to 16 players next season, and with a projected cap ceiling to be in the $73 million range, that doesn’t leave much room for significant upgrades.

If the Wild are going to continue to get this lack of production out of their $6,500,000 winger, not only will they fail to build on last year’s success, they’ll fail to make the playoffs and damage the team in the upcoming years.  Certainly this is one present the Wild wish they could send back as he’s arguably the biggest free agent bust from this past summer.