Havlat, an explosive winger fresh off signing a six-year, $30 million deal, slipped on an "Iron Range Red" Wild sweater for the first time Friday. He asked with a big smile, "Do I look good? What do you think? Feels pretty good. Feels like a beginning of something new."
The Wild rounded out its seven-player defense corps with gritty defenseman Shane Hnidy, who signed a one-year, $750,000 contract. But winger Ruslan Fedotenko turned down a multiyear deal from the Wild to re-sign in Pittsburgh for one year, meaning the Wild will likely wait now to bring in another winger.
The team continues to be patient as free-agent center Saku Koivu takes his time deciding where he will sign. It's not looking good with Minnesota, and it doesn't appear to be so much about money as a concern about playing with his brother, Mikko.
"We've put a lot of conversations and time into it," GM Chuck Fletcher said. "Whatever decision he makes, I'm sure they'll be for good reasons."
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If Saku Koivu doesn't sign and Fletcher can't make a trade, coach Todd Richards believes Pierre-Marc "Bouchard can be that guy" at No. 2 center.
Bouchard, a right winger in the NHL, is actually a natural center. He played center when he was Canadian Hockey League Player of the Year and led the CHL in scoring with 140 points for Chicoutimi of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in 2001-02.
If the Wild can't acquire a No. 2 center, Richards plans to talk with Bouchard in training camp to see how comfortable he would be switching to the middle. Bouchard couldn't be reached for comment, but it is believed he would welcome the move.
"I feel Bouchard can be that guy, but it's going to be up to him to show us he can be that guy," Richards said. "Playing center, there is a lot of responsibility. But with our system, we aren't going to just require our centers to play down low. It's going to be a group of forwards. It may end up being the left winger playing low in D-zone coverage, and if that's the case, it should take a little bit of responsibility away from Bouchard."