Will the Minnesota Wild take the next step to become a Stanley Cup contending team?
The Minnesota Wild will be primarily the same team for the 2015-16 season. The same team swept in the 2nd round of the playoffs by a familiar opponent, the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks. Down 3-0 after the 1st period of Game 1, they came back with 3 goals in the first 10 minutes of the 2nd, and I’m sure most fans thought “Here we go. This is the team I remember!” Once they came back though, Chicago adjusted and turned it up a notch and the Wild lost that 1st game on a late 2nd period goal.
From that moment on, the team we saw go on that great run to make the playoffs seemed to disappear. As if all the hard work to get into the playoffs and get past the St. Louis Blues in round 1 had taken its toll. The energy and confidence in their game was gone. They looked tired physically and defeated mentally. It was difficult to watch.
So why should we expect a better Wild in 2015-16?
The Wild were 18-19-5 with 40 games to play. That’s not the worst record to have in 42 games but it was how they got there that had everyone throwing the season away. From December until January 13th, they went 5-10-4 after starting 13-9-1. They were getting worse, not better and a 41 points in 42 games pace does not a playoff team make.
The Wild have solved their goalie situation. Darcy Kuemper was thrust into the starting role at the beginning of the season and he, like the team, started off well but wasn’t ready to be a number one goalie this early in his career. Niklas Backstrom, once again, was battling through injuries and wasn’t really an option so the Wild rode Kuemper until they realized he wasn’t the answer. He looks to have that ability but needs more time. Not many people thought a little trade for Devan Dubnyk, the backup in Arizona, would make a difference but the Wild would finish with 100 points and make the playoffs as the first Wild Card team and the 7th seed in the Western Conference. Devan Dubnyk re-signed with the Minnesota Wild for 6 years/$26 million in July.
Every player who played over 20 games is still on the roster except for Kyle Brodziak. He played in 73 games, providing a bottom-6 role last season. Now, every role is important and though most people weren’t big fans of Kyle Brodziak, he played his role well. That being said, the Wild have other players and prospects that should be able to step in and fill the spot vacated by Kyle Brodziak signing with the St. Louis Blues as a free agent.
They chose not to bring back Chris Stewart, Sean Bergenheim and Jordan Leopold. They brought back Nate Prosser and Ryan Carter and added Mike Reilly from the Minnesota Gophers. So the core of this team is still here. There’s very few players that have to come in and learn Mike Yeo’s system.
The Wild have youth on their side. They have players ready to take the next step in their careers and help this team be successful. Mikael Granlund, Charlie Coyle, Jason Zucker, Nino Niederreiter, Matt Dumba, Marco Scandella, Jonas Brodin, Erik Haula, etc… Now they just have to do it.
In the next week, we will #BringTheClutter with articles about who could be Going WILD this season. The season starts in just 8 Days!!! EIGHT DAYS!!! ONE WEEK from tomorrow!!! ARE YOU READY???
You’ve been….CLUTTERPUCKED!!!!
Thanks for reading!
Bring the Clutter! Every Day! In Every Way!!!
