GIF: Thomas Vanek opts for drop pass on breakaway, shouldn't have

When the Minnesota Wild signed Thomas Vanek last offseason, they were probably hoping that they'd attained one of the NHL's premiere goal scorers. 

Instead they've received a second-line playmaker. 

In 39 games with the Wild, Vanek - who hasn't scored fewer than 20 goals in a season ever in his career - has scored just seven goals. Even more troubling, his shot rate is way off of what he's managed for his career. 

Perhaps that explains why Vanek passed on a breakaway opportunity in Saturday's matinee contest against the Nashville Predators. 

The Austrian-born Vanek had a step on Shea Weber, and the time and space to take his best shot on Pekka Rinne when he mind-bogglingly elected for a blind drop pass that was out of Zach Parise's reach:

(Courtesy: Fox Sports)

Really? 

The fact of the matter is that the Wild aren't playing well enough to pass up on opportunities like this ...