This is a prediction I’m a little concerned about. The State of Hockey is long overdue for a playoff appearance and management is well aware of the restlessness amongst its fans. The team has struggled to truly find an identity since entering the league in the year 2000. The Wild attempted to address some of their needs this off-season by adding more offense into the mix. Although they received an influx of talent, it came at a high cost: Brent Burns and Martin Havlat. Mike Yeo was hired as the head coach over the summer in hopes of providing a new direction for this club. Last year, Yeo was the head coach of the Wild’s AHL affiliate, Houston Aeros. He’s familiar with the organization and should bring some new energy to the roster. Chuck Fletcher served as the assistant general manager in Pittsburgh under Ray Shero before being promoted to general manager of the Wild in 2009. Even before his time with the Penguins’ organization, Fletcher served as the assistant general manager in Florida for ten seasons. This season is going to be a big step for this franchise. If they fail to make the playoffs this season, there will be many questions surrounding management’s decisions
On offense, The Wild’s highest paid player, Dany Heatley, was acquired this off-season. He came over in a clean exchange for Martin Havlat. Heatley brings with him an important statistic that was seriously lacking for the Wild last season: shots on goal. Over the past four seasons, Heatley has produced at least 64 points and 217 shots each year. Discounting his rookie campaign, this past season saw career lows in both categories. Heatley’s production is larger than Havlat’s, and fittingly, so is his salary cap hit - $7.5 million per year. He’s eclipsed the 100-point mark twice in his career – both while in Ottawa. When counted on to be the center of the offense, Heatley delivers. He’ll have that chance in Minnesota. The captain of this squad is Mikko Koivu and enough cannot be said about this player. NHL clubs often do a fantastic job acknowledging their hardest-working, most motivated individual and the Wild are no exception. Koivu is skilled in every facet of the game whether it’s back-checking, forechecking, breaking out of the zone, setting up teammates or finishing himself. Just watch this. He was only one of four positive players last season and averaged the most time on ice of these candidates with just over 19 minutes a game. Koivu plays in every situation as well, proving his worth to the club. Playing on a line with a shooter like Heatley will ensure more than a few assists. Pierre-Marc Bouchard has had some concussion issues the past two seasons, playing only 60 games in that span. He’s still put up a respectable 38 points – ten of those coming from power play assists. Bouchard plays an important role as a puck mover on the blue line of the power play. His $4.08 cap hit means he should be producing a little more – or at least be present in the lineup. Hopefully, he’ll be back healthy this season. Next on the cap chart is Matt Cullen. Cullen has played for six different NHL teams in his 13-year career, but over the past six seasons, he has been a consistent producer of about 40-50 points. He is noted more for his passing skills and like Bouchard, thrives on the power play where he recorded 21 of his 39 points. Cullen is a valuable second-line center. Like Heatley, Devin Setoguchi came over to the Wild from the San Jose Sharks in a trade. This exchange included Brent Burns and a second-round selection for Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle and a first-round pick in 2011. Setoguchi was also brought in to increase offensive production. In his last three seasons, Setoguchi has accumulated an impressive 610 shots. In Minnesota, his production will be relied upon more heavily compared to a deep San Jose team. He’s averaged just over 47 points a season, but should receive even more opportunities in Minnesota, especially on the power play. Guillame Latendresse has incredible potential, but a lower-body injury limited him to 11 games last season. Before last year, Latendresse started the season in Montreal. After being traded in November of 2009, he recorded 37 of his 40 points for Minnesota in only 55 games. If he comes back healthy with that same pace, he’ll have a significant effect on the lineup and overall success of this team. Eric Nystrom was signed as an unrestricted free agent before the beginning of last season. He's not an incredible point producer but plays important minutes in close games, throwing a number of checks. Coming into his sixth NHL season, the Wild are hoping he can make more of an impact. Speaking of checks, Cal Clutterbuck led the league in hits last year with 336! His 34 points are nothing to be overlooked either. Clutterbuck does a wonderful job sinking beneath opponents' skin. Just ask James Wisniewski. He will continue to forecheck like a maniac, forcing defensemen to make mistakes. Kyle Brodziak is a big body down the middle. He had a career season last year with 37 points. He's finally getting his opportunities in Minnesota and they should only increase this year. Darroll Powe is an excellent grinder that was acquired this off-season from Philadelphia in exchange for a third-round draft pick in 2013. I doubt that draft pick will be any better than Powe. He kills penalties and throws his body around without hesitation (196 hits last season). Powe is an important role player. Casey Wellman hasn't played more than 15 games in his two seasons in the NHL. He'll be fighting for a spot every night. Colton Gillies is a large forward who only played seven games last season. I wonder if management doesn't trust his play because he played 45 games the season before. A former first-round draft pick in 2007, the Wild expect more from this now-22 year old. Brad Staubitz is a mean character coming into his fourth NHL season. Last year, he piled up an astounding 173 penalty minutes - good for ninth in the league. Staubitz will continue to intimidate his opponents next year. Nick Johnson was claimed off waivers this month from the Penguins. Last year he played four games in the yellow and black, accumulating three points. He may have a better shot at cracking this lineup and making more of an impact.
Offensive Score: B-
The loss of Brent Burns is going to hurt this team's defense more than most think. He played a ton of minutes and put up a significant number of points. After the 46 points Burns scored last season, Marek Zidlicky is next with 24. He was also second to Burns on the team in terms on time on ice. Zidlicky will be relied even more this season, especially on the power play. Nick Schultz was able to produce a decent number of points last season with 17. Schultz isn't the most offensively gifted defenseman, but he is very reliable in his own end. He blocked an impressive 132 shots last season - good for second on the team. Greg Zanon led the team with 212 blocked shots. The only player in the NHL with more was Dan Girardi. It's amazing he never missed a game last season. Zanon will likely be promoted to first-line duties when this season rolls around. He'll also have the responsibility of killing most of his team's penalties. Mike Lundin was signed this off-season, but is currently on the injured reserve with a back injury. He's been a solid defenseman for the Lightning, but won't contribute much offensively. I don't know much about Marco Scandella - likely because he only played 20 games with the club last season due to a finger injury. He will definitely get a chance to crack the lineup this season without Burns and an injured Lundin. Justin Falk is in a similar situation. He's a large 22 year old looking for his chance at a roster spot this season. Clayton Stoner proved he's ready for an NHL job last season. He put up nine points in 57 games and played an average of almost 17 minutes a game. His 96 penalty minutes show his darker side - always a nice attribute of a defenseman. Jared Spurgeon is very similar in that he also put a decent number of points in a shortened season - 12 in 53. He rarely finds himself in the penalty box, only once last season, and plays a fair number of minutes per game at 15. The youngsters will need to pull through this season.
Defensive Score: B-
The Wild fans are sincerely hoping Niklas Backstrom returns healthy this season and to the level of play he displayed a few years ago. Last year, he missed a good portion of the season due to hip surgery. Over the past two seasons, Backstrom has gone 48-46. The two seasons prior to that, he was 70-37. He has the potential to be a game-changer and management believes in his abilities - as do I. My prediction of this team's success heavily rides on Backstrom's shoulders. His backup, Josh Harding, missed all of last season with a knee injury. Harding has struggled over the past three seasons with losing records every year. To be fair, he had a save percentage just shy of 93 in one of them. He'll probably only play 15-20 games as long as Backstrom is healthy.
Goaltending Score: A-/B+
Don't make me look like a fool Minnesota - make the playoffs or feel the wrath of your fans.
