Gaborik could go to the ‘Nucks

By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor

ith the NHL trade deadline

drawing closer, the

inevitable water cooler
talk is about to begin, and one of the
hottest topics will surely be the status
of superstar Minnesota Wild winger
Marian Gaborik.

The otherworldly talented, yet
injury-prone Slovakian, who up
until this point has played his entire
professional career in the Twin Cities,
is a prime candidate to be dealt at the
March 4" deadline.

Gaborik, 27, has barely played this
year due to frequent injury problems,
but his recent hip surgery is being
touted as a success and as a launching
pad to put his health woes behind him.
With the Wild quickly falling out of
the Western Conference playoff race,
expect to see Gaborik on the trading
block.

The 3" overall draft pick in the
2000 NHL entry draft selection is an
unrestricted free agent this summer and
as one of the most dynamic players
in the world, when healthy, he won’t
have difficulty lining up potential
suitors. Negotiations on a contract
extension with the Wild have broken
off completely after Gaborik and

the team’s General Manager Doug
Risebrough got into a very messy
argument in front of other Wild players
shortly after Gaborik announced his
decision to miss games for his recent
surgery.

Even before that, however, talks
between the parties had stalled and
Gaborik made his intentions about his
future in Minnesota crystal clear when
he declined a proposed eight-year,
$8.5 million per season contract offer
from the club. Even in the spending
spree that is unrestricted free agency,
Gaborik is unlikely to have that kind of
money thrown at him. While he is as
offensively gifted as Alex Ovechkin,
his chronic injury troubles will be
a strong consideration for wary but
interested teams. Gaborik has never
played a full season in the NHL and
hasn’t played more than 65 games since
2003.

Still though, when he’s at his peak,
there is nobody, and I mean nobody,
that is more exciting and fun to watch
than Marian Gaborik and that comes
with the fact that he’s been stuck in
Minnesota’s infuriating defensive
system for years.

If Gaborik can sign with a club that
has any semblance of offensive talent
this summer and get his injury issues

under control, then look out. Rumours
have linked him to the Los Angeles
Kings at the deadline but another
possible destination that keeps popping
up, more so for this coming summer
though is Vancouver.

Gaborik’s best friend, Pavol
Demitra, is currently lighting it up for
the Canucks and the team is surging.
If Mike Gillis is unable to retain the
Sedin twins (and with the money
they’re reported to be asking for that
is a distinct possibility), then Gaborik
would look great in Canuck colours.
With Vancouver playing an offense-
first style and Demitra experiencing a
mid-career resurgence in play, Gaborik
could be inclined to sign here.

Now, this is all theoretical of
course, but you have to admit, it looks
promising. Vancouver has tons of cap
space and Gillis has already proved
with Mats Sundin that he’s willing
to chase down top players and pull
the trigger on a blockbuster. With
Vancouver being reportedly interested
in Jay Bouwmeester at the deadline,
its unlikely that Gaborik comes here

before July 1“, the opening day of free megs

agency.
I’m already counting down the
days.

 

 

Lost in the Woods

 

By Garth McLennan,
Sports Editor

elieve it or not, it has
now been nine full
months since Tiger

Woods last played golf on
the PGA Tour. Nine months!
Since his win for the ages at
Torrey Pines last June in the
U.S. Open, Woods has been
sidelined with a serious knee
injury which has required
econstructive surgery. With
, Woods out, the game of golf
@ has suffered, and they are
* looking forward to his return
® this weekend on February
_, 26", at the WGC-World
Match Play Championships
more than any fan.

With the economy
tanking and major
corporations rethinking
where their sponsorship
dollars are headed, Woods’
injury could not have come
at a worse time. The fact
is, for the vast majority of
people, Tiger Woods is golf,
and with him out, the game
has floundered.

Now, everyone knows how great
Woods is. At just 33 years of age,
Woods has already won 14 major
championships. The all-time record
of 18 titles is held by Jack Nicklaus.
While it’s unlikely, Woods could
conceivably equal that mark at the end
of this season. Consider this to get an
idea of Tiger’s dominance: despite
missing the last nine months of play,

“Woods is still the number one ranked

player in the world. The guy hasn’t teed
up in nine months and he still tops the
charts? That’s incredible.

With the PGA Tour rapidly losing
sponsors, they desperately need Woods
to come back and make an immediate
impact. For better or worse, Tiger
Woods is the PGA Tour’s lifeline.
Whenever he swings a ciub, people
take notice. Whenever he participates
in a tournament, the television ratings
spike, fan attendance surges and media
coverage of the event, no matter what
corner of the world it’s in, increases
tenfold. Golf needs that energy if they
have any hope of remaining more than
a niche sport.

Sure, professional golf has other
amazing players. Phil Mickelson is
fantastic and Vijay Singh is one of
the world’s best, while Jim Furyk

can always be counted on to give a
great performance. Irishman Padraig
Harrington repeated as British Open
Champion last year and also won

the PGA Championship. All of these
players are incredible golfers and have
made legitimate stakes to the mantle
of the best in the world while Woods
has been away but that is the problem;
they’ ve been the best without Woods in
the field.

Tiger Woods is one of those rare
athletes who have transcended their
sport. Like Wayne Gretzky in hockey,
Muhammad Ali in boxing or Michael
Jordan in basketball, Tiger Woods has
proved that he is one of the greatest
athletes in history, and that’s tough
for anyone to match. When Tiger
plays, people who aren’t golf fans pay
attention. That’s the type of quality that
nobody else on the Tour right now has.

Just look at how far the PGA Tour
has tumbled in Tiger’s absence. Ratings
have plummeted and media coverage
has been steadily declining ever since
he went down. The LPGA Tour is
falling so fast it might fold.

Golf needs Tiger Woods, now more
than ever. Hopefully with his return this
week he’ll make people sit up and start

to take notice of the game again.
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