At the Rink: Wild at Islanders

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Minnesota Wild forward Thomas Vanek had a choice to make last season: Sign a long-term contract to stay with the New York Islanders, who paid a steep price to acquire him in a trade the previous fall, or keep open the chance to return to the state where he played college hockey for the University of Minnesota.

Some would have thought the Islanders' upcoming move to Brooklyn would have been a selling point during the negotiation process. Instead, it was leaving Nassau County that helped Vanek make up his mind. When he opted not to sign with the Islanders, they traded him to the Montreal Canadiens in March 2014. Vanek then signed a three-year deal with Minnesota on July 1.

"It was close in February [2014] and I thought about it long and hard," Vanek said at Nassau Coliseum on Tuesday. "There was two factors; I made a choice that I really wanted to go to free agency. But after being here for a while I loved it here.

"The one thing I didn't like was the move to Brooklyn. I think if the rink would have been built here, it should be here on the island. There was probably a good chance I still would be here."

Vanek developed chemistry on the Islanders' top line last season alongside John Tavares and Kyle Okposo and had 17 goals and 27 assists in 47 games. Always candid, Vanek said he enjoyed his time in New York and is glad to see the Islanders doing well.

"Even though it was a short stint, I only have good memories and good things to say [about the Islanders]," said Vanek, who has 19 goals and 30 assists in 72 games in his first season with the Wild. "The thing is I would have stayed had the team stayed here on the island and not moved [to Brooklyn]. But other than that it was a great time.

"This is a building I didn't like coming to, but once I was here … it's one of my favorite buildings now. The fans are great here. The building gets loud. I don't know. As far as family-wise I think it would be tough for my kids, my wife to go to Brooklyn on game days. I didn't see that fit. Hopefully it works out and I was wrong. But at the time it kind of scared me off."

Here are the projected lineups:

WILD

Zach Parise - Mikael Granlund - Jason Pominville

Nino Niederreiter - Mikko Koivu - Chris Stewart

Thomas Vanek - Charlie Coyle - Justin Fontaine

Sean Bergenheim - Erik Haula - Jordan Schroeder

Ryan Suter - Jonas Brodin

Marco Scandella - Jared Spurgeon

Jordan Leopold - Matt Dumba

Devan Dubnyk

Niklas Backstrom

Scratched: Darcy Kuemper, Christian Folin, Ryan Carter

Injured: Kyle Brodziak (upper body), Nate Prosser (lower body), Matt Cooke (sports hernia), Jason Zucker (clavicle), Keith Ballard (concussion/facial fractures)

ISLANDERS

Josh Bailey - John Tavares - Kyle Okposo

Anders Lee - Brock Nelson - Ryan Strome

Nikolay Kulemin - Frans Nielsen - Tyler Kennedy

Matt Martin - Casey Cizikas - Cal Clutterbuck

Calvin de Haan - Travis Hamonic

Nick Leddy - Johnny Boychuk

Brian Strait - Thomas Hickey

Jaroslav Halak

Michal Neuvirth

Scratched: Michael Grabner, Eric Boulton, Colin McDonald, Matt Donovan

Injured: Mikhail Grabovski (upper body), Lubomir Visnovsky (lower body)

Status report: Wild coach Mike Yeo said Brodziak should be fine for Minnesota's next game, against the Calgary Flames on Friday. Brodziak was injured during a fight with Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Dion Phaneuf on Monday, but Yeo said Brodziak did not sustain a concussion. … Dubnyk will make his 32nd consecutive start since arriving in a trade from the Arizona Coyotes and 33rd overall. … Islanders coach Jack Capuano said Visnovsky could return in the next couple of days. Grabovski still is being evaluated and is not close.

Who's hot: Dubnyk is 23-6-1 with a 1.74 goals-against average, a .937 save percentage and five shutouts for the Wild and has allowed two or fewer goals in 23 of his 31 games. … Vanek has six goals and four assists during his eight-game point streak. … Strome and Hamonic each had one goal and one assist in a 3-0 win against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. … Halak made 26 saves for his fifth shutout of the season.

Follow Brian Compton on Twitter: @BComptonNHL