NHL offseasons often reveal one or two teams that make the biggest proverbial splashes in an attempt to launch their franchise into the upper echelon of Stanley Cup contenders. It has been noted hundreds of times that the team that made the biggest buys in the summer of 2012 was the Minnesota Wild. Identical 13-year, ...
One fact was pretty clear before the start of the Minnesota Wild’s first round series against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Wild would need their rookies to step up and be counted in their first ever playoff action. That fact was only reinforced after Minnesota were edged out 2-1 in overtime in a fascinating and tightly ...
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 ...
Nail Yakupov closed out 2013 with a bang. The 2012 first overall pick scored a third period hat trick in game 48 to finish out the Oilers season with a 7-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. The hat trick was the first of the young Russian dynamo’s career and very likely not the last. He finished ...
The Chicago Blackhawks wrapped up their regular season April 27 against the St. Louis Blues, with first place locked up the Hawks rested many of their regulars. It is now official that Chicago will play the 8th seeded Minnesota Wild in the first round of the 2013 playoffs. With big name stars on both rosters this should lead to a series that promises end to end excitement.
In February reports suggested that the 2013 NHL awards aren’t likely to be held in Las Vegas. It doesn’t really matter where they are held, it can be guaranteed that the NHL awards ceremony will leave those passionate about the game frustrated. Everything that is wrong with the NHL awards could hardly have been better ...
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 ...
With more than two-thirds of the NHL season played, we now have a clearer picture as who the leading candidates are for the best NHL rookie of the year. This season, as opposed to recent years, there is no clear-cut candidate to win the Calder Trophy, but rather a plethora of worthy candidates to consider for ...
We’re just over halfway through the 2013/2014 NHL season and several rookies have already made big impacts on their respective teams, and have stood out from the rest. Whether it be offensively, defensively, or by agitating the opposing teams, these NHL rookies have earned to right to remain on the big club. 1. Jonathan ...
An army made up of just privates and generals cannot win a war. Much the same, the Minnesota Wild, breaking in promising recruits like Mikael Granlund, Jonas Brodin, Jason Zucker, and Charlie Coyle, while led to the battle by Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu, and Ryan Suter, is lacking the quality personnel between the bottom and ...
