2016-17 record: 49-25-8 (106 points)
Lost to St. Louis in Conference quarterfinals
Captain: Mikko Koivu
The Minnesota Wild began last season like gangbusters, as they had a hot start to their season. However, as the season drew to a close and the playoffs began, they hit a lake-sized pothole and were done after just five games in the playoffs. Expectations weren't high last season, and despite the hot start, expectations are not very high this season. Minnesota might as well be Missouri, as they are now in "Show-Me" mode with the fans.
Offensively, that hot start was most evident in the fact that they finished the regular season second in goals per game. Mikael Granlund and Nino Niederreiter are driving forces that are just now reaching their prime while Eric Staal had a career resurgence after a few down years. However, players such as Zach Parise and Charlie Coyle struggled not only with injuries, but also consistency. The rental of Martin Hanzal didn't work out, and the team offense struggled mightily in the playoffs, as they scored only seven goals in five games. Defensively, they were very good, but they are now needing to figure out the depth problem, as the third pairing looks like a sore spot, particularly since Gustav Olofsson and Mike Reilly are unproven at the NHL level and Kyle Quincey and Ryan Murphy are nothing more than depth players at this point. In goal, there's nothing to worry about when it comes to starter Devan Dubnyk. He's as advertised, but the need for a reliable backup reared its ugly head late in the season, and as a result, Dubnyk had too much on his plate. Still, he kept the Wild in the playoff games despite not getting much help in the scoring department. The special teams ranked in the top third of the league, but losing Scott Stevens behind the bench may affect the team's penalty killing unit.
Prediction: 5th in the Central Division
The Wild are a team that just barely avoided salary cap hell when they found a taker for Jason Pominville's contract, but that only scratches the surface of the problems ahead. The investments to both Parise and Ryan Suter haven't translated to wins when it matters the most, and now, Parise's contract has the potential to be a millstone for a team that simply doesn't have the resources to patch up the holes that are beginning to spring. They'll be in tough to make the playoffs, but they should be thankful that Dubnyk is playing his best hockey right now or it could be worse.
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