The Daily 3: The 'Goodbye, Gabby' edition
FELDY: I know that Phersy's alive and actually looking forward to returning home from F-L-A, because my phone lit up with text message after text message from him last night as he was following NHL free agency, Day 1, from the beach. Imagine that -- he's sitting on a beach in Florida stressing over the Wild's signing of Greg Zanon, worried it might be their only signing of the day. I would bet my house and car that Phersy was the only person on that beach who knew who Greg Zanon is. He might have been the only person on the beach who knew who Martin Havlat is. Speaking of Havlat ...
3. Wild off to a good start in free agency. New GM Chuck Fletcher didn't make the big splash that many Wild fans were hoping for at last weekend's NHL Draft, but he made up for it on Day 1 of free agency. Fletcher's first big signing -- and quite possibly the biggest free-agent signing in team history -- was wrapped up at about 10 p.m. last night, when Chicago forward Martin Havlat signed a reported 6-year, $30 million contract. When healthy, Havlat can be every bit the dynamic forward that Marian Gaborik is. Havlat had 77 points in 81 games last season, and added 15 points in 16 playoff games. Stick him on a line centered by Mikko Koivu or Saku Koivu ... that's a fun thought. ... The Wild, as mentioned, also signed D Greg Zanon, who apparently is the NHL's version of Johnny Knoxville -- not afraid to put his body in harm's way at all. He's projected as a third-pair defenseman, but he has been in the top 15 the past two seasons in shorthanded time on ice. He also blocked 237 shots last season, third in the NHL.
2. It took half the season, but ... The Twins are finally two games over .500, and it only took 81 games. Of course, they may not be two games up for long, as Nick Punto, Justin Morneau and Mike Redmond all left yesterday's win at K.C. with injuries. As has been the case this season, the timing was terrible, with division rival (and division leading) Detroit pulling into Metrodome this weekend.
1. Gabby's gone. The best player in the history of the Wild has left and fans are reacting with a collective yawn. Marian Gaborik signed a 5-year, $37.5 million deal with the New York Rangers on Wednesday and the common refrain from Wild fans seems to be "good, his groin is their problem now." I suppose the indifference comes because fans have known this was coming for more than a year -- something former GM Doug Risebrough never seemed to grasp. One stat that sums up Gaborik's career in Minnesota: In the four seasons since the lockout, he played in 207 games and missed 121 games (nearly 1 1/2 seasons). Yes, he was dynamic on the offensive end when healthy, but he never seemed interested in playing defense. And for a guy who the team supposedly counted on so heavily, he always seemed to be about fifth or sixth on their list when they were in a shootout. ... Still, Gabby's talent is till good enough to warrant $7.5 million per year, to play on Broadway, no less. And if he thinks he was scrutinized by fans or media in Minnesota, wait until the New York jackals latch onto him.

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