Mike Russo appeared on KFAN and was interviewed regarding Gaborik's current contractual impasse as it has been described in the local media. Here's the run down of what he said:

-Gaborik's agent, Ron Salcer, has a history of ground breaking contracts in the NHL;

-to keep Gaborik, the Wild will have to seriously overpay him;

-he believes the offer the Wild have made to Gaborik is somewhere in the $8.5 million per year range;

-he does not believe this is about Gaborik not wanting to play in Minnesota as he believes that there is a good chance that this is Lemaire's last year and any contract that Gaborik signs with the Wild would go well beyond Lemaire's anticipated tenure;

-it may be hard to move Gaborik right now given each team's cap space or lack thereof. The longer the Wild wait to move him, the more teams that can afford him, but it comes with serious risk in the event that Gaborik gets injured and can't be moved prior to the trade deadline;

-Brian Rolston told Russo that if Gaborik is not traded, he will likely have a monster year as Gaborik will want to have the best stats possible for next off season's free agency period;

-the offer made to Gaborik by the Wild is for more money than Leclavier, Iginla or Thornton make;

-the question is whether Gaborik is the guy you can build around to win a Stanley Cup;

-Gaborik for Malkin won't happen as one report suggested because Gaborik wants more money than Malkin;

-the best a Gaborik trade may fetch is a bunch of young players and prospects;

-Gaborik is really interested in playing in Los Angeles as his doctors are there, his agent is there, and he has friends there;

-Russo would pay/offer no more than $8.5 million per year to Gaborik;

-Minnesota fans will understand if the Wild don't sign him, but the Wild then better go out and spend that money on players;

-the perception of the Wild is that they are a team that can't land a big free agent.

There you go gang, thoughts? To hear the entire interview, go to kfan.com.

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