Pre-season projection: Playoff team Final team record: 26-19-3 (8th in Western Conference) Flip a coin. The Minnesota Wild made the playoffs for the first time in five years; they almost played themselves out with a 5-6-1 finish, blowing their shot at the division. They scratched out critical season-ending tilts with the Los Angeles Kings and ...
When you think of the Minnesota Wild, the names Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, Mikko Koivu, and Niklas Backstrom come to mind, as they should. Suter and Parise were acquired to vault the latter two Finns into playoff contention for the first time since 2008.
While the dual free agent signees’ impact has been noticeable, a relatively small Wild lineup (save for a healthy Mike Rupp) has been actively seeking bottom-six forwards capable of a shutdown, bump and grind style.
Pre-season projection: Playoff team Current stock: Holding Team record: 21-13-2 (3rd in Western Conference, 1st in Northwest Division) Surprisingly, the Minnesota Wild held their grip to the top of the Northwest, putting six points between themselves and ninth place with an 8-4 push that was punctuated by a franchise-best seven-game winning streak. Secondary scoring and ...
In the Old West, a renowned but aging gunslinger usually ended his career with a bullet in a ditch. In the new West, he’s paid $7.5 million this year and next. Times indeed have changed. The challenge for Dany Heatley, once one of most feared goal scorers in the world, is a nightly duel between ...
The Minnesota Wild is headed for a fall. It’s no exaggeration to say that Devin Setoguchi and Matt Cullen have ignited the 14-5-1 explosion which has propelled the Wild near the top of the Northwest Division. With 11 goals leading the squad in that stretch, Setoguchi has done the finishing, while his centerman Cullen has ...
Hockey is one of the most physical games on the planet, as a result you are bound to see physical contacts between players. Whether it is with a thunderous hip check or a shattering body check, certain players know how to knock skaters on the ice a la Scott Stevens. Consequently, when these players are on the ...
The NHL’s department for player safety announced Friday night that they have suspended Edmonton Oilers forward Taylor Hall two games for his hit on Cal Clutterbuck. Unless you’re a fan or member of the Minnesota Wild, you probably wouldn’t consider Taylor Hall a dirty player. The controversial hit on Clutterbuck was the second time a player from the Wild ...
Pre-season projection: Playoff team Current stock: Dropping Team record: 6-5-1 (11th in the conference, tied for eighth) As the Wild thrashed the Avalanche on opening night, Mike Greenlay, Minnesota’s TV color guy couldn’t help but wiggle the forest green and Iron Range red tattooed on his butt by bragging, “We’ve been talking about the fact that the ...
After a very active offseason in free agency, Minnesota’s top two offensive lines look as deadly as any in the NHL. With the top six looking set, the Wild has a plethora of character forwards to create a lethal bottom six from. Kyle Brodziak and Zenon Konopka will be the third and fourth line pivots, ...
Minnesota has suffered. It has for a while. Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, and 196 million dollars changes it all. The Minnesota Vikings are 0-4 in Super Bowls and their best two teams in franchise history never made the Super Bowl; 1998 and 2009. Gary Anderson missed wide left after being perfect the entire season in ...
