Around the NHL in 30 Days – Minnesota Wild

FanSided’s Around the NHL in 30 Days now comes back to the East to take a look at the Minnesota Wild. This would also be a good time to mention that the Gone Puck Wild blog is in need of a new lead writer. The Wild’s season preview was written by the talented Jared Crozier at the Ottawa Senators blog SenShot. If you’re interested in writing for the Wild, contact Frank Rekas at therattrick@gmail.com

The Wild have certainly changed their roster this offseason. They have done 2 important trades with your San Jose Sharks, both of which I believe were more beneficial to the Sharks. First up the Wild swapped Martin Havlat for the Sharks’ Dany Heatley. Havlat led the Wild with 22 goals and 62 points. Next up Wild fan favorite Brent Burns and a second round pick was traded to the Sharks for Devin Setoguchi and prospect Charlie Coyle. Burns was the Wild’s top scoring defenseman last year.

The Wild finished 12th in the West last year, and were 26th in the league in goals scored. Will Heater and Seto help the struggling offence? I think they will, but it will take more than just Heater and Seto to bring this team back into the playoff picture this year.

Let’s see how the Sharks did against the Wild last year:

4 Games: Sharks won 2, lost 2

Out of the 4 games played last year, 3 of them were decided by just 1 goal. The Wild have long been known for their defensive posture and playing a “wait and see” kind of game rather than an attacking style. So no wonder the games against the Sharks were tight affairs. The Sharks won 2 games by a 3-2 and 4-3 score, and lost 2 games by 5-3 and 1-0 scorelines.

The Wild have a lot to prove this year. Unfortunately I don’t think they will be able to make it to the post season dance come this April.

Check back tomorrow for more of FanSided’s Around the NHL in 30 Days.

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