Marian Gaborik never used it as an excuse, but perhaps there was a reason the Wild game-breaker didn't score in the Wild's first-round playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche.

Gaborik had arthroscopic surgery on his right hip joint after the season to repair a torn labrum.

"He's had this pinching feeling in his hip for pretty well the whole year," general manager Doug Risebrough said. "It hadn't prevented him from playing and playing very well. But we, and him specifically, really wanted to pursue options of getting relief from it.

"(Dr. Marc Philippon) felt if he had surgery, there was a good chance the pinching feeling would go away, so Marian decided to go ahead with it."

According to Risebrough, Gaborik, who scored a career-high 42 goals and 83 points this past season, said his hip began hurting last summer. In late October into November, Gaborik missed five out of seven games with a groin injury.

Risebrough and assistant general manager Tom Lynn said that at the time, doctors injected his hip with cortisone, feeling that if they relieved his hip of the pinch, it would help loosen up his groin.

Gaborik should be fully recovered in two months -- "well ahead of training camp," Risebrough said.

This off-season could determine Gaborik's long-term future with the Wild.

He's entering the last year of a contract that pays him $7.5 million next season. Because he can become an unrestricted free agent next summer, the Wild plans to meet with Gaborik this summer to determine if he's willing to sign a long-term extension in Minnesota.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT
Dec. 20 against the Rangers, Gaborik became the 42nd player to notch a five-plus goal-game in the NHL. "It was a pretty fun night," said Gaborik, the Wild's franchise-leader in virtually every offensive category. "It was an unbelievable night. You're in some kind of a zone where things are going for you. After the game, you keep thinking about it, how it happened, what led to it. You try to pinch yourself to see if it's real."

TURNING POINT
After winning its first division title, the Wild earned home-ice advantage in the first round. But Gaborik didn't score a goal in the playoffs and injuries to the blue line (Nick Schultz and Kurtis Foster) caught up to the Wild.

"We never mentioned it," Lemaire said. "We were a little scared about the injuries we had on defense. We knew we were going to tax certain guys (Kim Johnsson, Martin Skoula and Burns), and at a time, we didn't know if they were going to last. It caught up the last game. You could tell."

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