As the Stanley Cup playoffs continue, the Minnesota Wild started sorting out what the team will look like next season. While the most pressing issues have yet to be resolved, some of the decisions that needed to be made to determine course have been settled. One player has jumped ship, another has begun to shop himself around, while the upper levels have decided to stay the course and see where the winds take them.

In team management meetings in Florida last week, coach Jacques Lemaire made it official that he would return for his eighth season with the Wild. Saying "After the meetings I had with Doug [Risebrough] lately, I do really feel comfortable and I do really feel excited to come back and coach," Lemaire’s return most likely signals that Mr. Risebrough will return as well. Risebrough’s name is part of the rumor mill for the GM job in Toronto, but he and Lemaire are very close, so Lemaire’s return is a significant development.

While the upper crust of the management will be seemingly unchanged, the Wild’s free agent situation started to sort itself out. Defenseman Petteri Nummelin has signed a contract to play in Europe, effectively ending his NHL career. Nummelin joined the Wild via trade from Atlanta in June 2006. He played 51 games in his first campaign with the team, but suited up for just 27 this season. He battled some injuries, but spent most games in the press box as a healthy scratch who just did not fit the Wild’s physical style on the blue line, and played most of shifts as a forward.

When Lemaire lost confidence in his remaining healthy blue liners, Nummelin made a brief appearance in the Wild’s first round series loss to Colorado. Nummelin is a solid player, with outstanding play-making ability, but his style of play simply does not fit the NHL. At least not as a defenseman, and his signing in Europe is a sign he was not willing to change position.

In the same time span, forward Pavol Demitra received a guided tour of Vancouver and the Canucks arena by fellow free agent Markus Naslund. While Demitra is not officially a free agent until July 1st, Demitra’s former agent is the new GM for the Canucks, so there is an obvious relationship there. The public disdain of Demitra for the center position and for Lemaire’s system, make him an unlikely return to the Wild, so the fact he is looking at other markets is no real surprise.

While Demitra’s shopping, Nummelin’s departure, and Lemaire’s commitment to next season are not the banner headlines Wild fans are impatiently awaiting, they are nonetheless important. The return of the only coach the team has ever had shows the management, and Lemaire, are happy with the progress the team has made and is making. Demitra looking around the league signifies that he is ready to move, possibly freeing up millions for the Wild. The loss of Nummelin with no real public effort to retain him signifies the Wild are ready to put money in different areas of need, such as re-signing Brian Rolston or bringing in another center.

No matter the level of significance, the Wild’s postseason moves have begun, and the rest of the league is watching closely.