The 2014-2015 season marks the fourteenth season for the Minnesota Wild. After the North Stars relocated to Dallas at the end of the 1992-1993 season, the NHL granted Minnesota an expansion franchise that entered its inaugural year during the 2000-2001 NHL season. This year would have marked the Wild’s fifteenth season had the lockout not wiped out the entire 2004-2005 NHL season.
Since the rebirth of NHL hockey in Minnesota, the furthest the Wild have gotten in the playoffs has been the Western Conference finals. The Wild have made the playoffs just five times with a possible sixth time in the wings this season. Finishing outside of the playoff race eight times has been disappointing for fans but it has allowed the club to stockpile an impressive group of young players.
The future looks bright for the Minnesota Wild. In recent years, some of the young players that the Wild have acquired over the years are seeing their game come to fruition. Many of these players have been integral to the success that the Wild have had this season. The young players combined with the Wild’s veteran core have put the club in a position to contend sometime in the near future.
[See Also: The 2013-2014 Minnesota Wild: How They Were Built]
While it seems the Wild might be turning a corner, it is important to remember the past and the way it shaped the Wild’s present. Here is a look at a season-by-season history of the Wild and how they’ve represented the state of hockey in the NHL since the club began playing in the 2000-2001 season.
A Brief History of the Minnesota Wild
Inaugural Season: 2000-2001
General Manager: Doug Risebrough
Season Record: 25-39-13-5
2001-2002 Season
General Manager: Doug Risebrough
Season Record: 26-35-12-9
2002-2003 Season
General Manager: Doug Risebrough
Season Record: 42-29-10-1
2003-2004 Season
General Manager: Doug Risebrough
Season Record: 30-29-20-3
2004-2005 Season (Lockout – Did Not Play)
2005-2006 Season
General Manager: Doug Risebrough
Season Record: 38-36-8
2006-2007 Season
General Manager: Doug Risebrough
Season Record: 48-26-8
2007-2008 Season
General Manager: Doug Risebrough
Season Record: 44-28-10
2008-2009 Season
General Manager: Doug Risebrough
Season Record: 40-33-9
2009-2010 Season
General Manager: Chuck Fletcher
Season Record: 38-36-8
2010-2011 Season
General Manager: Chuck Fletcher
Season Record: 39-35-8
2011-2012 Season
General Manager: Chuck Fletcher
Season Record: 35-36-11
2012-2013 Season (Lockout-Shortened Season)
General Manager: Chuck Fletcher
Season Record: 26-19-3
2013-2014 Season
General Manager: Chuck Fletcher
Season Record: 43-27-12
Tim joined The Hockey Writers in July 2013. He began his tenure with THW by covering the Minnesota Wild and he now writes on the Buffalo Sabres. Tim completed his undergraduate and graduate work at the University at Buffalo. In addition, he is a published historian and a Baltimore Orioles Contributing Writer for LegendsOnDeck.com. Tim’s work for THW has been featured on sites such as Yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @TOHockeyTHW
