Here's what Minnesota Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher said to the media after he signed Thomas Vanek to a three-year, $19.5 million contract on the first day of free agency:
This guy has been a premier scorer since he entered the League. He still managed to have 68 points despite playing in three cities. We really wanted a [right-handed] shot, we wanted someone who can play with top players, and we wanted someone who can help our power play.
Through seven games, an admittedly small sample size, Vanek has looked more like the player who disappointed in the playoffs with the Montreal Canadiens than the guy who put up big numbers with the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders last season.
The 30-year-old Vanek has zero goals and four assists, which isn't disastrous, but he has just 14 shots on goal. That's an alarmingly low number for a player who had 248 shots in 78 games in his three stops last season and 119 shots in 38 games in 2013.
He has three shots on goal in his past four games, two of which saw Vanek record zero shots, and half of his shots came in one contest.
It's either a slump that ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Dave Lozo
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October 28th, 2014 by Dave Lozo Leave a reply »
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