Lemaire wants Gaborik to dig down a bit deeper

LOS ANGELES -- Wild forward Marian Gaborik got a taste of how the real world works this week. What happened to him happens all the time. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right.

The company -- in this case, the NHL -- gave Gaborik a raw deal.

These stories come up all the time in everyday life. You buckle down, put in the extra effort, and when it's time for the big raise, it goes to the guy who didn't do nearly as much. That's what happened to Gaborik, who lost out on a $100,000 bonus this week. Granted, a bonus of $100,000 is something most of us never dream of, but the money -- nearly 10 percent of his salary -- was there; it was his, he earned it. And he didn't get it.

Here's what happened:

A couple of weeks ago, the NHL selected the rosters for this weekend's All-Star Game in Los Angeles. Despite being ninth in scoring among non-North American players, Gaborik was not named to the World Team.

No biggie. Gaborik said he didn't expect to be named, that he was flattered that anyone would even suggest he had a shot. And Gaborik certainly wasn't the only player to be snubbed.

Then, as happens every year, a handful of players named to the All-Star Game had to decline because of injuries. That's when Gaborik got the short end of the stick. Earlier this week, Columbus' Espen Knutsen was named to replace an injured star on the World Team.

The NHL sent out a release, pumping the fact that Knutsen was the Blue Jackets' first All-Star, and how Knutsen will be the first Norwegian to play in the All-Star Game.

Sounds peachy. But crunch some numbers.

Knutsen has eight goals this season. Gaborik has 18. Knutsen has 23 assists. Gaborik has 27. Knutsen is a minus-18. Gaborik is a minus-4.

Case closed?

There might be extenuating circumstances. Gaborik has been asked to play in tonight's YoungStars prospects game -- a sort of all-star game for NHL players younger than 25. Columbus' Radislav Klesa, the player selected one pick after Gaborik in the 2000 draft, also was scheduled to play in the game. But he canceled because of injury. That left no one from Columbus to participate in the All-Star Weekend. Knutsen was the only legitimate candidate and he's too old (30) to play in the YoungStars game.

Still, is it fair Gaborik won't be able to cash in on a $100,000 bonus clause in his contract for appearing in the All-Star Game.

"I don't know," said Gaborik, blushing and shrugging his shoulders when asked if he felt slighted. "Like I said before, I really didn't think I was going to make it anyway because there are so many good players, great players, out there. I was just happy to be mentioned."

But, Marian, are you . . . ticked?

"It would've been nice to play," Gaborik said.

That's it. That's all he will say. He isn't going to stomp or whine. When somebody jokingly suggested Gaborik should not play in the YoungStars game as a form of protest, Gaborik only blushed some more, looked to the ground, smiled and said, "Nah."

"I'm actually really looking forward to playing in the prospects game," Gaborik said. "It's four-on-four, so it should be a lot of fun . . . fast, lots of scoring. It's nice they asked me to play."

But wouldn't it have been nice to play with the real All-Stars?

"Yeah," said Gaborik, for the first time looking a bit disappointed. "It would've been real nice. . . . Maybe someday."

• The Wild sent defenseman Travis Roche back to minor league Houston on Thursday. The Wild doesn't play again until Tuesday, but by that time, one of three injured defensemen -- Brad Brown, Brad Bombardir or Willie Mitchell -- should be ready to return to the lineup.

Roche was scoreless in three games since being called up last week.

-- Tom Jones is at twjones@startribune.com.