Thomas Vanek got the team he wanted, at a price the Wild should like

Thomas Vanek’s bad, terrible, awful performance in the playoffs that inspired me to write a post theorizing that he was playing injured (he wasn’t) undoubtedly cost him some money.

The Austrian winger ended up where he wanted to, in Minnesota, but the money ($6.5 million per) and term (three years) are both smaller than what I thought we’d see, particularly after her turned down a seven year deal worth seven million per from the New York Islanders mid-season.

$19.5 million versus $49 million? Dude must really love Minnesota.

But, as it goes, that seems to be the case. He played college there, he lives there, and in turn had his sights set on playing there. A pretty good Minnesota Wild team that just made the second round of the playoffs added a nice offensive piece. With young players like Nino Niederreiter, Mikael Granlund and Charlie Coyle ready to take the step from prospects to contributors, having a puck distributor to help them boost their numbers should go a long way. With Dany Heatley off the books and a few solid veteran contributors (Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu, Jason Pominville), the Wild have assembled a pretty talented core of forwards. They’re going to need it in the brutal Western Conference.

That Vanek’s deal contains a no-trade clause makes sense. He took less money to live where he wants to live, and with that sacrifice a high-end player deserves security.

The Wild are better today than they were yesterday, and they took that step at a pretty reasonable price. When you’re acquire a guy who has the tendency to play when he feels like playing, and put him exactly where he wants to be, you’re going to get his best. The Vanek contract could end up being a bargain.