"There was a telling moment during the NHL draft over the weekend when Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher, explaining his deal that sent Brent Burns to the San Jose Sharks for Devin Setoguchi and a prospect, noted that the Sharks made the move because "they're trying to win the Stanley Cup next year."

Fletcher needed about one millisecond to recognize a little perspective was required.

"Not that we're not," he noted, "but we need assets to compete with these teams."

Although Wild personnel say they had a marvelous draft for "trying to stock the cupboards," in the words of assistant general manager Brent Flahr, they must quickly turn their attention to impending NHL free agency.

The Wild have six players who will become free agents Friday: Andrew Brunette, Antti Miettinen, John Madden, Chuck Kobasew, Jose Theodore and Josh Harding.

Adding Setoguchi up front, along with the expected return of Guillaume Latendresse from surgery that sidelined him nearly all of last season, should give the forward lines a strong core to work with. Already, coach Mike Yeo is considering pairing Setoguchi with Pierre-Marc Bouchard on a line that might be centered by Mikko Koivu.

Add Martin Havlat, Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Cullen into the mix, and it appears the Wild won't be looking for a high-end, high-cost forward beginning Friday.

They'll need a goalie, unless they grab Theodore or Harding. Philadelphia's Brian Boucher is available, too. "