Wild and Bouchard are gearing up for arbitration

From Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Lynn flew to Toronto tonight to get situated, and right now, I’m getting the feeling there’s a large gap between what the Wild is seeking from the arbitrator and what Bouchard’s camp is seeking. Usually, both sides have a good idea what number an arbitrator will decide upon, so they can avoid arbitration and come to an agreement (like last year when the Wild and Bouchard agreed on a one-year, $2.6 million deal before arb or like last week when Stephane Veilleux and the Wild agreed to a one-year, $862,500 contract, including a 125K signing bonus).

In this case, the gap appears to be large enough that the Wild and Bouchard may not come to a compromise. So, there’s a shot it’ll get there.

Read the entire story here.

This could end up being one of the more heated arbitration hearings in some time. It appears both sides have extremely different views on Bouchard’s worth to the Wild. To be honest, If Bouchard is a member of the Wild after 2008/09, I’d be surprised.