Daily Links: Bouchard back; Who backs up Koivu?: Wild players generous; Johnsson a family man and more

Competition is brisk at center behind Koivu | StarTribune.com
Opening night is Saturday, yet one of the Wild's biggest questions heading into training camp has yet to be answered: Who will be the Wild's No. 2 center behind Mikko Koivu? "It's wide open. It truly is," coach Todd Richards said Sunday. "We really thought [James] Sheppard had a great game [Friday] in Chicago. He scored a goal. He was on the ice when [Martin] Havlat scored.

Will patience last when Wild needs to start out fast? | StarTribune.com
Tonight in Philadelphia, coach Todd Richards and his players get their last chance to check their progress without points on the line. But the need for patience in an innately impatient profession will remain. The trick for Richards and company will be to indulge it as much as they can, without losing ground early in what promises to be another tooth-and-nail Western Conference playoff chase.

Johnsson right at home in Wild system | StarTribune.com
Johnsson's life consists of two different worlds, and he prefers them not colliding. Johnsson and his wife, Jeanette, have two daughters, Filippa, 6, and Felicia, 3, and "when I'm not here, I'm with my kids," Johnsson says. "When you get older, you realize why you play and you realize the career is very, very short. I go home to my kids, and there's no time to think about bad games and good games because you're just dad."