In March, after the Wild trounced the Islanders in Uniondale, N.Y., Jacques Lemaire vented afterward about how a bunch of Islanders turned "brave" and targeted the Wild's skilled players, such as Pierre-Marc Bouchard.
"When you're running after guys that don't fight and they're not tough, it doesn't tell me a lot," the former Wild coach said March 25. "They tried to run us out of the building, so it'll be interesting next year when we pay them back."
At that late juncture, you can bet Lemaire knew he wouldn't be back. He couldn't have known that Bouchard wouldn't be, either.
When the Wild and the Islanders met again last week, Bouchard was still sidelined because of a concussion that was originally sustained that March evening after he was hammered by Nate Thompson.
"I was watching my pass, which is never a good thing," Bouchard, 25, said Friday. "I don't wish this injury on anybody. It takes time. It's not like a broken wrist. You just don't know how much time it's going to take."
The Wild's best playmaker is beyond frustrated. He came to training camp thinking that he was completely healed from the concussion. He was motivated to rebound after a 46-point season and excited about a change in the system and a switch from right wing to center to potentially play alongside Martin Havlat.
But in Bouchard's first exhibition game, against Columbus, he was hit in the chin during a scrum at the net. He worried that he might have suffered another concussion, but blood work showed he had the flu, and he was put on antibiotics.
But Bouchard never seemed convinced, dropping hints that he thought he was concussed before playing in the exhibition finale at Philadelphia and season opener in Columbus, Ohio.
