2017-18 record: 45-26-11 (102 points)
Lost to Winnipeg in Conference quarterfinals
Captain: Mikko Koivu
The Minnesota Wild did well in the regular season, going over the 100 point mark and finishing 11th in both offense and defense. Like every other season for a Minnesota sports team, though, the Wild fell short of expectations in the end. This time, the culprit was a leg injury that Ryan Suter suffered at the end of the regular season, which was like pulling the wrong block in a Jenga stack and watching it tumble. The Wild return largely the same on-ice personnel, but will have a new man in charge as General Manager.
The Wild had no trouble scoring, as they were just outside the top 10 in that category. Eric Staal is having the best seasons of his career in a Wild uniform, and Jason Zucker just got paid after amassing 30+ goals. The obvious key here is Zach Parise, who hasn't played a full season since the lockout shortened season of 2013 and hasn't played at least 70 games since the 2013-14 season, which was also the last season he scored 30 goals or more. This team can score, but were exposed when they didn't have the big body that can be physical, which is why Jordan Greenway needs to make the impact that Alex Tuch was supposed to make before he got sent to Vegas prior to last season. For all the flak that the Wild get defensively, they also finished just outside the top 10 in that category, too. The problem is that too often, the Wild rely on Suter to get everything lined up on the blue line, and it bit them in the butt when he was lost for the playoffs. What the Wild need is more balance in the back end leadership, so someone from the group that includes Jonas Brodin and Matt Dumba will need to step up there. In goal, Devan Dubnyk has the ability to steal games for the Wild. Like most goaltenders, he also needs to rest up some, and unfortunately, Alex Stalock isn't the answer. The Wild's biggest change happened in the front office, where Paul Fenton will be tasked with maneuvering around the salary cap mess that Chuck Fletcher left behind.
Prediction: 5th in the Central Division
The Wild still have the pieces to at least make the playoffs. Because of salary cap restraints, they could not do much to improve their roster other than re-sign key players to extensions. The Western Conference is tough, and the Wild will need to match or exceed that if they want to make the playoffs for the seventh straight season.
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