A New Face In The State Of Hockey: Torrey Mitchell

Torrey Mitchell

Forward

5'11"

190 lbs

Shoots: Left

Born: January 30, 1985

Birthplace: Greenfield Park, Quebec

Mitchell was signed by the Wild just a few hours after free agency opened on July 1st. He signed a 3 year, $5.7 million deal (Cap hit of $1.9 million per year) to be a stronghold on the team's 3rd line.

You may remember Mitchell, as the Sharks player who checked Kurtis Foster into the boards in San Jose and broke Foster's femur, just a few weeks prior to the 2008 playoffs (That was a huge blow to the Wild).

Mitchell does not jump off the page statistically (30-43-73 line in 260 career games). But if you watch him closely, he brings speed and gritty play to the table, something Mike Yeo is always looking for to add to the squad. He also will add some depth to the lower lines, something the Wild did not have much of in 2011-12. Mitchell is also a pretty decent penalty killer, so look for him to help bolster a pretty decent PK unit from 2011-12.

(Mitchell doesn't score often, but when he chooses to do so, he can make it look pretty)

He had played his entire 5 year career with San Jose to this point, so in addition to his gritty play, he will also bring some valuable postseason experience to the Wild. He has played in 55 playoff games thus far in his career, and that puts him up there with Dany Heatley (66), Matt Cullen (63), and Zach Parise (61) as team leaders in the playoff games category.

Torrey Mitchell has the characteristics to fit the Mike Yeo system perfectly, so look for him to be a valuable part of the Wild for the next three years.

Welcome to the Team of 18,001 Torrey Mitchell!


This is the third post in a five post series on the Wild's free agent signings this offseason. We have previously looked at Jake Dowell and Zenon Konopka. Tomorrow, we will take a look at Ryan Suter.

The Zidlicky Soap Opera Ends

Minutes prior to Saturday night's game against Dallas, defenseman Marek Zidlicky was pulled from the lineup. Not to long afterward, the entire world found out Zidlicky was finally shipped out to New Jersey. In exchange for 'Z', the Wild received D Kurtis Foster, F Stephane Veilleux (Both former Wild players), F Nick Palmieri, a 2012 2nd round pick, and a conditional 2013 3rd round pick (The pick hinges on whether or not the Devils make it to the Eastern Finals and Zidlicky plays in 75% of those playoff games).

This move needed to happen. The Wild needed to dump Zidlicky. He had been a cancer to the team, since asking to be traded on January 31st, and his play during that time sure didn't help him or the team whatsoever. Zidlicky had been a great offensive defenseman (5 times in his career he topped the 40 point mark in a season), but he lacked effort and often clashed with coach Mike Yeo. And Yeo showed no mercy towards his highest paid defenseman, when he wound up scratching him more frequently as of late.

Meanwhile, the team gets a couple of well respected players on and off the ice(Foster and Veilleux) and a decent prospect (Palmieri). As Russo points out, Foster (4 G, 10 A, 14 P in 37 G) and Palmieri (4-3-7 in 29 G) will for sure be in the lineup sunday against the Sharks at Xcel Energy Center, and Veilleux will be headed to Houston, but look for him up with the Wild soon. Clearly the move will help bolster the atmosphere in a very dead locker room. Oh and don't forget, the team got two (2012 2nd round, and a conditional 2013 3rd round) draft picks, which will help beef up an already stellar farm system.

The drama surrounding Marek Zidlicky has come to an end. He got his wish and was shipped out of town, and the Wild got a very decent haul for his services for not only this year, but the following season as well (He is under contract for $4 million in 2012-13). If you are Chuck Fletcher right now, you have to be giving yourself a pat on the back. You took advantage of a weak trade market for D-Men three days before the trade deadline, and traded an almost useless player on a fading team to a contending team for a ridiculous return (Even if Foster and Veilleux, both UFA's on July 1st, don't return in 2012-13, the Wild still have Palmieri and the draft picks).

Now lets put all this behind us and hope Fletcher can swing a similar deal for Greg Zanon and his expiring contract at season's end too...

Nystrom, Foster, and No Touch Icing

Last night, we saw Eric Nystrom hustling to beat out Oilers D Taylor Fedun on a icing call. But then as Nystrom reached around Fedun to try and touch the puck first, he caused Fedun to fall and slide feet first into the boards. Fedun's right leg slammed into the boards, causing his femur to fracture and ending his season before it even started.




The hit comes when the NHL is trying to crack down on players delivering illegal hits to players in "vulnerable" positions. Nystrom had even been tweeting about those types of hits yesterday saying that players need to not put themselves in "vulnerable positions". Expect the NHL to now look further into maybe adopting the "no-touch icing" rule, to keep injuries down on those plays. You may remember former Wild D-Man Kurtis Foster suffered a similar injury in March of '08 against San Jose (Video below). Mike Russo tweeted last night that Foster will be in contact with the NHLPA about "no-touch" icing.



I'm really torn on the no-touch icing. Yes, I want to keep the players safe and on the ice. But I also want to see the hustle that Eric Nystrom showed last night while trying to beat out Fedun. They are the best at what they do and taking away the touching of the puck eliminates that hustle and also, the scoring opportunities that comes with beating out an icing call.

As Russo writes today, Nystrom is not expected to face any type of discipline for the play with Fedun. And he shouldn't. He was clearly making a play for the puck, and not the defender. It was just very unfortunate that Fedun was hurt so badly on the play. Sometimes, things like this just happen. Its part of the game. Nystrom even went so far to apologize to Fedun, he visited him in the hospital today, apologizing numerous times in his brief visit.

I ultimately believe you will see "no-touch" icing in the NHL very soon. If not sometime this year, then most likely next year. Player safety is being put front and center these days, and this will be a big move in ensuring more of it. Its sad to see the touch icing leave, but we got to keep the players safe out there. And that's the bottom line...