Kopitar Extension Could Foreshadow Gaborik's Exodus

News of Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar signing a seven-year, $47.6 million extension isn't good news for Minnesota Wild fans. That's not because the Wild will continue to face one of the Western Conference's rising stars for a good chunk of the next decade. Rather, it could very well spell the exit of the Wild's face of the franchise and most popular player, Marian Gaborik.

The Kings signed the 21-year-old phenom to a deal that registers nearly $7 million per season. Meanwhile, the Wild have made multiple offers to Gaborik, rising to the tune of $8 million per season. If you look at each player's statistics over the past year, Wild G.M. Doug Risebrough's offer seems more than palatable.

Kopitar: 82 games; 32 goals; 45 assists; 77 points; +/- = -15; SOG 201
Gaborik: 77 games; 42 goals; 41 assists; 83 points; +/- = +17; SOG 278

The growing consensus is that Gaborik isn't satisfied with playing in St. Paul and seeks a bigger pond, so to speak, on which to play. Nobody can be upset with the Wild if Gaborik ends up elsewhere. While he is a solid, above-average player in the NHL, he is by no means a member of the league's elite. Should Risebrough work hard at a trade in which the Wild picks up an assortment of good young players and prospects, a trade could provide rich rewards down the road when the young talent on the Wild roster is in its prime.