There were rumours throughout the NHL season that the Minnesota Wild would be a free agent destination for a particular top goal-scoring winger and, when free agency opened, they got their man. Darnell Savage Jr. Super Bowl Jersey . Numbers Game looks at the Wild signing Thomas Vanek. The Wild Get: LW Thomas Vanek. Vanek, 30, has been one of the most prolific goal-scorers in the game. Since 2006-2007, his 252 goals ranks fourth, behind Alex Ovechkin, Jarome Iginla and Ilya Kovalchuk. Vanek is a four-time 30-goal scorer who has scored at least 20 goals in each of the last nine seasons. Only Ovechkin and Rick Nash have managed that same feat. So, with that goal-scoring resume, Vanek should have been incredibly appealing as a free agent, but there was the small matter of his slump in the playoffs that left a sour taste for some. Vanek had eight points in 10 games, through Game Six of the Boston series, but fell flat after that, managing two assists and a total of eight shots on goal in the next seven games. He played under 15 minutes in each of his last eight playoff games. For a season in which he played a career-high 19:21 per game, with the Sabres, Islanders and Canadiens, that role reduction made it clear that Vanek would be moving on from Montreal. This following a season during which he scored 15 points in 18 games with the Habs, giving him 68 points in 78 games while moving around the Eastern Conference. Which brings us to Minnesota, which had been linked to Vanek pretty much from the get-go of his contract year. Vanek played college hockey at the University of Minnesota. His wife is from Minnesota. The Wild would have Dany Heatleys $7.5-million cap hit coming off the books. Former Sabres teammate Jason Pominville was playing well for Minnesota. It was all lining up for Vanek with the Wild. Ultimately, nothing really changed that. Maybe a great playoff would have given Vanek more leverage on the open market, but he didnt sign a break-the-bank deal, inking for $19.5-million over three years. The $6.5-million annual cap hit is actually less than Vaneks previous contract, but when a player has a preferred destination, and particularly when he has earned a boatload of money in his career already (more than $57-million in his career, according to Cap Geek), there is an opportunity for a team to get him for less than the top price on the market. That Vanek was willing to accept a three-year term is a clear indication that Minnesota was his preferred location. When it comes to his game, Vanek doesnt use his size (6-foot-2, 205 pounds) very effectively, aside from when hes in front of the net, where he positions well for tip-ins, deflections, screens, etc. Throughout his career, Vanek hasnt been much of a puck possession player, varying up and down a little bit in relative terms from year to year, but Vanek has always been a high-percentage finisher in his own right and consistently had high on-ice shooting percentages (which includes others on the ice with him in 5-oin-5 play), so hes going to bring offence to Minnesota. Depending on how the Wild want their lines to shake out, Vanek should have either Mikael Granlund or Mikko Koivu -- two pass-first playmaking centres -- setting the table for him and if Vanek is getting opportunties -- he had a career-high 3.18 shots on goal per game last season -- take 25 goals to the bank, with 30 or 35 possible at the top end. This is a nice upgrade for the Wild, who made some noise in the playoffs and have added a premier goal-scorer to their mix and have done so without spending too much in order to get him. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Bart Starr Super Bowl Jersey . The right-hander said he threw about 30 pitches in a routine bullpen session Sunday at Yankee Stadium, his final hurdle before starting Tuesday night at Tampa Bay. Preston Smith Super Bowl Jersey . -- Felix Girard scored on the power play in the third period to lift the Baie-Comeau Drakkar past the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 4-3 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action Friday. http://www.shoptheofficialpackers.com/Elite-David-Bakhtiari-Packers-Jersey/ . After Andrew Romine served up two monster home runs in the inning, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said he thought Romine was one of the bright spots on the night, showing just how bad the series opener against the last-place Minnesota Twins went for the Tigers.A good way to describe Morgan Riellys season would be a gradual build. It started in training camp when there were questions about whether Rielly would crack the Leafs opening day roster or be returned to the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL. While he broke camp with the Leafs, Rielly had to wait until the teams third game of the season to see action. Then he played his tenth regular season game on October 26th against the Pittsburgh Penguins, meaning the first year of his three year entry level contract had kicked in. On January 15th against the Buffalo Sabres, another threshold reached as Rielly played his 40th game, meaning this season would count as a full season of service toward the seven required for unrestricted free agency. All the while through the first two months Rielly fought to claim an everyday spot in Torontos top three defence pairings, forced out of the line up on nine different occasions as a healthy scratch. But that appears to be a thing of the past now too; Rielly has not watched from the press box since December 8th against Boston. “Obviously he feels a lot more comfortable,” said Randy Carlyle, before the team departed for Florida on Monday afternoon. “Were starting to see the true Morgan Rielly. I think like any young player, theyre conservative in the early going; they dont want to make any mistakes.” Now a fixture among the Leafs top six defencemen and also seeing time on a second power play pairing with Jake Gardiner, Rielly is beginning to emerge in the form of a confident puck carrier. “I think over the course of the year so far, Ive been able to gain some confidence and Ive really got pretty comfortable jumping up in the play and trying to carry the puck a bit more,” said Rielly. Now with points in six of his last nine games (1-5), Rielly has moved into third among Leafs defensemen in scoring. Paired with Tim Gleason since midway through last Thursdays game against the FFlorida Panthers, the veteran defenseman has been impressed with the 19-year-olds poise with the puck. Clay Matthews Super Bowl Jersey. . “I notice how well he skates with the puck and how confident he looks skating with the puck,” said Gleason. “Its something that I wish I had when I was 19, 20 years old. Hes ahead of the game I think at his age, especially as a defenceman.” After playing with Jake Gardiner for a stretch of 10 games, a partnership with Gleason might be just the recipe to free Rielly up to take chances carrying the puck up the ice. “I hope thats the case,” said Gleason. “Hes a puck moving guy who skates well; hes one of those guys who can lead the rush and thats tough to do in this league. He can go whenever he wants and Im more than happy to kind of keep the fort down and do my thing. I think its a good mixture for sure.” The reassurance that Gleason wont stray too far from home has been beneficial for Rielly. “I like playing with Jake but playing with Timmys been great, hes always back there playing good ‘D and that helps me because I like to jump up a little bit.” So far, the feeling has been mutual for Gleason. “I have a good time playing with him,” Gleason explained. “If he has any questions, were different types of players so I dont know if Id have all the answers for him on the offensive side of things but hes grown really well since he started.” As Rielly continues to develop into the player the Leafs hoped they were getting when they drafted him fifth overall in 2012, Randy Carlyle insisted the Leafs will remain cautious in their approach with the young defenseman. “We dont want to get too far ahead of ourselves with any young player, we want to make sure we continue to measure and afford him the ice time that allows him to develop but, again, we dont want to put him in situations that he cant possibly have success in.” ' ' '