An excerpt from Globesports.com (Dave Campbell):
The Minnesota Wild hope to make Marian Gaborik an offer he won’t refuse. Their first step was a visit to Slovakia for a face-to-face meeting with their franchise player.
President and general manager Doug Risebrough and assistant GM for hockey operations Tom Lynn traveled to Gaborik’s home in Trencin last week, armed with data and ready to listen.
They shared inside information about their philosophy and plans, used statistics to sell the 26-year-old right wing on how he fits in Minnesota’s system, and took time to answer Gaborik’s questions about the team’s strategy and direction.
They didn’t talk contract yet. They just wanted to give him their side before the negotiation process begins.
“He’s going to make a decision, and we want him to make that decision with all the information that’s out there and not base it on any misconceptions or myths,” Lynn said Monday.
One of their primary objectives was to convince him he can still thrive as a scorer in the more-rugged Western Conference with a Wild team that has always emphasized defense first under coach Jacques Lemaire. Gaborik has publicly acknowledged in the past he’s wondered how productive he could be in a more offensive system.