A Minnesota Wild Blog that WON'T make you sick and kill you!
That's Wild It's no secret that the Minnesota Wild are essentially Kirill Kaprizov. Where he goes, they go. With some early-season struggles in all three zones (and especially at 5-on-5) that lead to losing possession of the puck just so easily, is Kaprizov trying to do too much? Does he fee...
3 months ago | 2 reads
We’re only two weeks into the regular season schedule, but the Calder Trophy race is already shaping up to be thrilling. Three names stand out above the rest: Montreal Canadiens winger Ivan Demidov, New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer, and Minnesota Wild defenseman Zeev Buium. T...
3 months ago | 3 reads
There’s no sugarcoating it; the Minnesota Wild stink so far this season. The reasons for that are up for debate, but the results are not. A 3-5-3 record through eleven games and a humbling start to the home stand has left both the team and its fans searching for answers after their most recent defea...
3 months ago | 2 reads
That's Wild The Minnesota Wild clearly want something else on their blue line. Yes, there are so many good and solid players on it but they want that extra grit and grind and physicality and roughness to it that can take them to the next level. It is an issue that started to become more prom...
3 months ago | 2 reads
The Minnesota Wild lost 7-6 in overtime to the San Jose Sharks last Sunday, despite being heavily favored at -220 (FanDuel listed the Sharks at +185). The Sharks entered the game and were 1-5-2, dead last in the standings. The Wild also had a tough start to the season, having lost 5 of their last 6...
3 months ago | 2 reads
In a normal season, you would consider Marcus Johansson a bargain. Playing on a minimum salary contract for $800,000, Johansson has four goals and seven points in his first 10 games. He went from cheap insurance in case former first-round pick Liam Ohgren didn’t leap to become a full-time NHL player...
3 months ago | 3 reads
The Minnesota Wild were undoubtedly hoping for a better start to the season than their 3-5-2 record. While the campaign is still early, 10 games are enough to gather some data on how a team is playing. Little has gone right in Minnesota, but it's easy to pick out a few areas where the team has strug...
3 months ago | 2 reads
You may have heard about this: The Buffalo Sabres are bad. Again. You also may be aware: The Minnesota Wild need scoring. Again. And perhaps you've known: The Wild used to have this fella in Buffalo named Alex Tuch. Are we all caught up? Great. Because you're going to hear a lot about...
3 months ago | 5 reads
How much can you panic about a 3-5-2 start? While the Minnesota Wild are in seventh place in the Central Division, it wouldn't have taken much for a few games to break differently. If one of four shots in overtime goes in on Sunday night, for example, the Wild would have entered Monday at a mu...
3 months ago | 2 reads
The season is not even one month in, and the Minnesota Wild are sitting in last place in the Central Division with a 3-4-1 record (7 points). How does a team with this much talent sit in last place in their division? They have not been consistent all season long. The Wild have looked goo...
3 months ago | 2 reads
The Minnesota Wild have come out of the gates cold. Their five-on-five performance has been dreadful, whether measured by results or underlying metrics. On the Wilderness Talk Podcast, I identified two main culprits for Minnesota’s inept five-on-five play: young defensemen and a thin for...
3 months ago | 0 reads
That's Wild Charlie Stramel needed a good start to his season. After the change from Wisconsin to Michigan State before last season propelled him to a solid 27-point campaign that got him back in as one of the Minnesota Wild's good prospects, the 2023 first-round pick could build the hype even...
3 months ago | 1 read
Let’s be real, it’s been rough going for the beginning of the Minnesota Wild season. While some may try to compare it to the rough start of 2023 (insert pointed stare), we don’t need to get too ahead of ourselves. Let’s all unwind at the bar together and get a drink. In fact, let’s invite some of th...
3 months ago | 2 reads
As they say, shooters shoot. And right now, few in the NHL know the meaning of that phrase like Matt Boldy. The fifth-year winger may have started the season with back-to-back three-point games, but his most dominant game so far was probably his effort in Dallas on October 14. He scored just one goa...
3 months ago | 1 read
The Minnesota Wild’s five-on-five play has been a major disappointment this season. This year was supposed to be different. Injuries have plagued the past two seasons, including Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek missing 41 and 36 games, respectively, last season. The hope was that bringing...
3 months ago | 4 reads
David Jiricek probably would have liked to have drawn in for the Minnesota Wild’s home opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 11. Instead, the Wild stuck him in the press box four booths down from Don Waddell, the general manager who traded him after 53 games. While they removed J...
3 months ago | 1 read
The Minnesota Wild are used to leaning on Jake Middleton, and Middleton is used to delivering for the team. Since the Wild acquired him from the San Jose Sharks at the 2022 trade deadline, they've entrusted him with increasingly demanding workloads. He went from 19:02 in his first full campaign in M...
3 months ago | 2 reads
With special guest Tony Abbott, the guys go over whether or not the Wild can break the shackles of their even-strength play and get back to playing complementary hockey or will they need to look outside of the organization for help?
3 months ago | 3 reads
That's Wild The Minnesota Wild are not having a good time. After their 4-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, they suffered a brutal 1-3-1 record on their road trip that took them through a variety of opponents and not so much a variety of results. [The Athletic] Brock F...
3 months ago | 2 reads
Outlets ranging from ESPN to the Star Tribune reported the Minnesota Wild’s decision to trade Calen Addison and acquire Zach Bogosian as a tandem deal in 2023. “It’s not a knock on Calen,” Bill Guerin explained. “It’s just a change in direction.” Addison had played 100 games for the Wild,...
3 months ago | 2 reads
The Minnesota Wild must upgrade their top-six. Mats Zuccarello is still injured, and they are stuck with slotting both Vladimir Tarasenko and Marcus Johansson in their top six. Both Marco Rossi and Joel Eriksson Ek have to deal with their production plummeting when they’re not playing with Kirill Ka...
3 months ago | 2 reads
That's Wild It's always nice to see a player's first. Danila Yurov was able to net his first NHL goal during the Minnesota Wild's 3-1 win over the New York Rangers Monday night. Kirill Kaprizov was his typical self, Jonas Brodin got on the stat sheet, and Filip Gustavsson was cool and collec...
3 months ago | 3 reads
The arrival of Canadian junior league talent into the NCAA has been one of the most intriguing stories in the hockey world this season. The change has completely reshaped the development path for prospects, with several high-end junior players making the jump to the collegiate ranks. It’s an e...
3 months ago | 2 reads
That's Wild The Minnesota Wild were on top of the world with an unbeatable power play heading into this weekend on the east coast. But after falling 5-1 to the Washington Capitals -- a game that should be instantly forgotten about -- the Wild continued on up the Atlantic and were struck down...
3 months ago | 2 reads
The premise of the latest Trending Wild video is that Marcus Foligno, our precious Mama Moose, is in cahoots with the admin to call and tell his teammates to have a good night. This is a trend that was popular over the summer, but was a fun addition to the team’s first long road trip. Here’s w...
3 months ago | 2 reads