Minnesota Wild: Expectations Were too High for Fontaine

Yesterday it became official that the Minnesota Wild would not be bringing back forward Justin Fontaine.  The Florida Panthers signed the 28-year-old to a PTO giving him a chance to get the change in scenery he needs to get his career back on track.

It was something that the fans of the Minnesota Wild saw coming, but many didn’t want to actually happen.  Yesterday it was announced by Chris Johnston of Sportsnet that UMD alum forward Justin Fontaine would be signing a PTO to head into camp with the Florida Panthers.  That move by the Panthers effectively ends Fontaine’s time with the Wild and leaves the State of Hockey wondering why he never quite caught on in Minnesota.

Fontaine was signed by the Wild as a free-agent out of UMD before the 2013-14 season.  Playing for Duluth he was largely underrated scoring 62 goals in four full seasons with the Bulldogs, and helped lead them to the school’s one and only national championship in 2011.  Fontaine made a splash in the AHL with Houston in his first two seasons, notching 55 and 56 points respectively.

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With such great performances in college and the AHL, the expectations for Fontaine were high when he reached the big club in Minnesota.  Unfortunately for him he never quite was able to live up them.  He did have a solid first year in the NHL with 21 points in 2013-14, and then even built a bit on that with 31 points in 2104-15.

Fontaine had re-upped with the team before his second season signing a 2-year deal worth $2 million.  This was probably where the expectations got too high for Fontaine.  He did well to get the seven figure a season salary from the Wild, but with that kind of money comes a much higher expectation from the organization and the fans.  And while he improved his scoring by 10 points the season after his new contract, it was regression of last season that sunk him.

In 2015-16 Fontaine dropped off massively to only register 16 points (5 goals and 11 assists).  Normally when that happens to a player to have to ask if an injury was to blame, and yes early in the season Fontaine did have an injury keep him out of a few games.  Still it wasn’t a serious injury and hardly explains the reduction of 15 points.  Also it wasn’t like his playing time was dramatically reduced, or to the point that would cause that kind of fall as Fontaine played in 60 games last season.

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Take that drop in production and add in the fact that he was already a $1 million a season player, and you have the reason he was not re-upped by the Wild this summer.  I really think the Wild did not want to pay that kind of money anymore for his services, and Fontaine might have overplayed his hand to demand a salary that was at or above that $ 1 million mark.

Basically I feel that he became a victim of getting a big contract early before he was completely tested, and he couldn’t have picked a worse season have such a dramatic step back.  Had he played up to his numbers in 2014-15 last season which was a contract year for him, he might have gotten a deal done with the Wild.

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So as Fontaine moves on to try and make the Panthers squad, he faces a new situation where the clean slate could be to his advantage.  If he goes into camp and plays hard he’ll make the team and might even have a shot at being in the everyday lineup due to the lack of wingers on their roster.  While it might be hard to see him go, it really was the right call for both parties as Fontaine will have a change of scenery, and the Wild will be able to possibly usher in some new young talent to take his place.  Best of luck Justin!