Last week, Michael Russo of the Star Tribune reported that Wild winger Pierre-Marc Bouchard got the go-ahead from his concussion doctor to begin lightly exercising. If you've followed Bouchard's injury, you know that he basically has been unable to do anything physical since last fall; even getting on the exercise bike can cause headaches. Brent Burns went through much the same thing the year prior.
↵According to Russo, Bouchard will be doing very light things - walks, a little bit of time on the bike, and that kind of thing. He's hoping to be ready for training camp this fall.
↵Bouchard's readiness for 2010-11 will play a big part in the Wild's summer plans. The NHL Draft is coming up on June 25th, free agency begins July 1, and with the team already dealing with salary cap issues for next year, Bouchard's $4.25million contract for next year (and the next year, and the year after that) becomes a worry. If he doesn't play next year, the team can put him on Long Term Injured Reserve and recoup that cap space - but if he's playing, then that's over $4 million of cap room the Wild doesn't have.
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