Game of Numbers: Minnesota Wild Edition

The Game of Numbers is an exclusive THW series looking at upcoming milestones around the NHL. Each team will be looked at individually in three parts – individual player milestones, franchise player milestones, and players that rank in the top 100 in NHL history in any big statistical category.

While the team has been around for almost two decades, their history is still one that doesn’t measure up to most NHL clubs. Sure, they have one division title from 2007-08 and they’ve developed a good, talented young team, but they have yet to make a real push when it comes to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

That being said – like any team – the Wild have built a team filled with youth mentored by veterans. While many of the players on the upcoming lists might be recognizable by name, their spot among Wild history might come as a surprise to some.

Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild, Ryan Suter, NHL, Hockey
Since signing together, Zach Parise and Ryan Suter have played a huge part in the Wild’s success. (Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports)

Minnesota Wild Individual Milestones

With the addition of guys like Zach Parise, Thomas Vanek and Ryan Suter, the Wild have become a team filled with players commonly referred to as NHL stars. While the do have yet to find the success that many expected from them, each of these guys along with their young counterparts are in the midst of setting their own milestones from game to game.

Games Played:

  • 700 games played: Jordan Leopold (681), Zach Parise (676), Mikko Koivu (667)
  • 500 games played: Sean Bergenheim (495)
  • 300 games played: Jared Spurgeon (280)
  • 200 games played: Nate Prosser (183), Jonas Brodin (179), Charlie Coyle (173)
  • 100 games played: Jason Zucker (95), Stu Bickel (76), Jordan Schroeder (74), Darcy Kuemper (61), Brett Sutter (60), Matt Dumba (55)

Goals:

  • 300 goals: Thomas Vanek (291), Zach Parise (267)
  • 200 goals: Matt Cooke (167)
  • 100 goals: Kyle Brodziak (97), Sean Bergenheim (95), Jordan Leopold (67), Ryan Suter (52), Stephane Veilleux (50)

Assists:

  • 400 assists: Mikko Koivu (350)
  • 300 assists: Ryan Suter (292), Zach Parise (287)
  • 100 assists: Sean Bergenheim (84), Jared Spurgeon (70), Mikael Granlund (61), Stephane Veilleux (56)

Points:

  • 600 points: Thomas Vanek (596), Jason Pominville (571), Zach Parise (554)
  • 500 points: Mikko Koivu (490)
  • 400 points: Matt Cooke (396)
  • 300 points: Chris Stewart (255)
  • 200 points: Sean Bergenheim (179), Keith Ballard (175)
  • 100 points: Jared Spurgeon (94), Ryan Carter (81), Mikael Granlund (78), Nino Niederreiter (71), Charlie Coyle (71), Marco Scandella (52)

Wins:

  • 200 wins: Niklas Backstrom (194)
  • 100 wins: Devan Dubnyk (88)

Minnesota Wild Franchise Milestones

Marian Gaborik was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the first round, third overall, in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. While the team and Gaborik parted ways in 2008-09, the former Wild star still holds a spot in the franchise’s historical stats. While players like Parise and Jason Pominville will certainly climb the Minnesota ranks, there are some among the race that might surprise even the hardcore Wild fans.

Games Played:

  • Mikko Koivu (667) needs 77 games played to pass Nick Schultz (743) for 1st on the team’s all-time list.
  • Kyle Brodziak (433) needs 6 games played to pass Wes Walz (438) for 7th on the team’s all-time list.
  • Stephane Veilleux (428) needs 6 games played to pass Kyle Brodziak (433) for 8th on the team’s all-time list.
  • Jared Spurgeon (280) needs 4 games played to pass Jim Dowd (283) for 16th on the team’s all-time list.
  • Josh Harding (151) needs 17 games played to pass Dwayne Roloson (167) for 3rd on the team’s all-time goalie list.
  • Darcy Kuemper (61) needs 91 games played to pass Josh Harding (151) for 4th on the team’s all-time goalie list.
  • Devan Dubnyk (24) needs 9 games played to pass Jose Theodore (32) for 7th on the team’s all-time goalie list.
  • John Curry (4) needs 2 games played to pass Derek Gustafson (5) for 12th on the team’s all-time goalie list.

Goals:

  • Mikko Koivu (140) needs 80 goals to pass Marian Gaborik (219) for 1st on the team’s all-time list.
  • Zach Parise (73) needs 10 goals to pass Wes Walz (82) for 6th on the team’s all-time list.
  • Kyle Brodziak (71) needs 3 goals to pass Zach Parise (73) for 7th on the team’s all-time list.
  • Jason Pominville (49) needs 3 goals to pass Antti Miettinen (51) for 13th on the team’s all-time list.
  • Stephane Veilleux (47) needs 1 goal to pass Dany Heatley (47) for 16th on the team’s all-time list.

Assists:

  • Kyle Brodziak (96) needs 3 assists to pass Marek Zidlicky (98) for 10th on the team’s all-time list.
  • Ryan Suter (92) needs 5 assists to pass Kyle Brodziak (96) for 11th on the team’s all-time list.
  • Zach Parise (71) needs 2 assists to pass Kim Johnsson (72) for 17th on the team’s all-time list.
  • Jared Spurgeon (70) needs 1 assist to pass Antti Miettinen (70) for 19th on the team’s all-time list.

Points:

  • Kyle Brodziak (167) needs 16 points to pass Wes Walz (182) for 7th on the team’s all-time list.
  • Zach Parise (144) needs 24 points to pass Kyle Brodziak (167) for 8th on the team’s all-time list.
  • Jason Pominville (115) needs 2 points to pass Martin Havlat (116) for 18th on the team’s all-time list.

Powerplay Goals:

  • Mikko Koivu (41) needs 15 powerplay goals to pass Andrew Brunette (55) for 2nd on the team’s all-time list.
  • Zach Parise (29) needs 1 powerplay goal to pass Pierre-Marc Bouchard (29) for 5th on the team’s all-time list.
  • Jared Spurgeon (12) needs 3 powerplay goals to pass Eric Belanger and Filip Kuba (14) for 14th on the team’s all-time list.
  • Jason Pominville (11) needs 1 powerplay goal to pass Pavol Demitra (11) for 19th on the team’s all-time list.

Game-Winning Goals:

  • Mikko Koivu (23) needs 21 game-winning goals to pass Marian Gaborik (43) for 1st on the team’s all-time list.
  • Zach Parise (12) needs 2 game-winning goals to pass Brent Burns (13) for 7th on the team’s all-time list.
  • Jason Pominville (9) needs 1 game-winning goal to pass Filip Kuba (9) for 11th on the team’s all-time list.
  • Charlie Coyle (8) needs 1 game-winning goal to pass Owen Nolan and Cal Clutterbuck (8) for 13th on the team’s all-time list.
  • Kyle Brodziak (6) needs 2 game-winning goals to pass Sergei Zholtok, Martin Havlat, Antti Laaksonen and Pascal Dupuis (7) for 16th on the team’s all-time list.

Wins:

  • Josh Harding (60) needs 3 wins to pass Dwayne Roloson (62) for 3rd on the team’s all-time list.
  • Darcy Kuemper (26) needs 35 wins to pass Josh Harding (60) for 4th on the team’s all-time list.
  • Devan Dubnyk (18) needs 9 wins to pass Darcy Kuemper (26) for 5th on the team’s all-time list.
  • John Curry (1) needs 3 wins to pass Matt Hackett (3) for 11th on the team’s all-time list.

Shutouts:

  • Josh Harding (10) needs 3 shutouts to pass Manny Fernandez (12) for 3rd on the team’s all-time list.
  • Darcy Kuemper (5) needs 6 shutouts to pass Josh Harding (10) for 4th on the team’s all-time list.
  • Devan Dubnyk (5) needs 6 shutouts to pass Josh Harding (10) for 4th on the team’s all-time list.
Niklas Backstrom, Minnesota Wild, NHL, Hockey, Milestones
Niklas Backstrom has pushed his way among the top 100 in multiple goalie categories. (Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

‘Top 100’ Milestones

On a franchise filled with goalies – Harding, Kuemper and Curry – Niklas Backstrom has found his way into Wild and hockey history with the numbers he’s put up over his career. At 37, he may not have that much more NHL hockey ahead of him, but with that being said, he’s already stamped his name on the top 100 lists of some of the biggest goalie statistical categories of all-time.

  • Backstrom (409) needs 3 games played to pass Lorne Chabot (411) for 92nd on the NHL’s all-time goalie list.
  • Backstrom (194) needs 6 wins to pass Pekka Rinne (199) for 77th on the NHL’s all-time list.
  • Backstrom (28) needs 1 shutout to pass Martin Biron and Andy Moog (28) for 63rd on the NHL’s all-time list.

More from the ‘Game of Numbers’ series:

Eastern Conference: BOS | BUF | CAR | CLB | DET | FLA | MTL | NJD | NYI | NYR | OTT | PHI | PIT | TBL | TOR | WSH
Western Conference: ANA | ARZ | CAL | CHI | COL | DAL | EDM | LAK | MIN | NSH | SJS | STL | VAN | WPG

NOTE: The ‘Game of Numbers’ series is subject to updates as the 2014-15 season progresses. Individual marks will only appear if the player is within 50 of the specific statistical milestone, while franchise marks only recognize the top 20 in club history.

For more, follow Andrew on Twitter at @AndrewGForbes or his THW column at @Tape2TapeTHW.