What’s up with Walz?

John Sippley of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that many within the Minnesota Wild organization are not aware when and if forward Wes Walz will return to the club.

And that includes the club’s head coach Jacques Lemaire.

“I haven’t thought about that… because he’s not here and maybe there’s a chance he won’t be here. There is a chance he won’t be here, so I can’t say, ‘When we have Wes …’ and build on that. He may never come.”

Even his teammates have no clue what the long time Wild player is up to.

“Guys don’t talk to him, guys don’t know what’s going on,” center Eric Belanger said. “You’re hoping he’s fine, that everything’s fine. At the same time, we’re here and we have a job to do. But we’re still hoping he comes back, because he’s a good player.”

Walz mysteriously left the club 29 days and has missed 12 games. His absence, coupled with forward Mikko Koivu going down with an injury, has left the Wild a little thin at center.

Should management decide to fill the void left by Walz and Koivu, the Wild have some flexibility since “Walz is a non-roster player whose salary does not count against the cap.”