A Minnesota Wild Blog that WON'T make you sick and kill you!
The Carolina Hurricanes' Stanley Cup run offers an alternate model for teams to build contenders. Rather than "tank for years and get a generational talent," the Hurricanes built a powerhouse team with just one top-10 pick in their past 10 drafts, which they used on non-franchise player Andrei Svech...
That's Wild Greg Cronin, coach of the AHL Iowa Wild, has been scooped up by the St. Louis Blues and hired as an assistant coach for the Wild's divisional rivals. So now, the Wild need to get a new bench boss for their farm team and there have not been any leads named. [The Athletic] Fr...
Now that the NHL season has come to a close, attention can turn fully to how the Minnesota Wild will tinker with their roster. Minnesota’s offseason will undoubtedly be interesting. We know they won’t be able to take any top-level prospects at the NHL Entry Draft, given that they won’t pick un...
That's Wild There are a number of NHL teams who could be more all-in this summer than expected. Over at The Athletic they did a practice of naming eight teams who could be hyper-aggressive this offseason to add as much talent as possible as they are under substantial pressure to finish next...
This week, the Minnesota Wild heeded social media's pleas and re-signed Michael McCarron to a six-year, $3.33 million contract. While the fun side of Wild Twitter is rejoicing over the return of Big Sexy, there are plenty of detractors who want to talk about why this contract is bad. This isn’...
Michael McCarron is a fourth-liner, 31 years old, and locked up through the 2031-32 season at $3.33 million per year, with a full no-movement clause attached – a classic Bill Guerin contract. When the Minnesota Wild announced McCarron's new contract Tuesday, the consensus formed fast: Guerin had ove...
The Minnesota Wild’s need for a legitimate top-six center has been one of the organization’s most persistent issues. If the trade market fails to produce a solution, the team should strongly consider pivoting in free agency, specifically toward New York Islanders captain Anders Lee. While Lee...
It's been a week since the bombshell news of Dylan Larkin's trade request hit the NHL, and the hockey world has been trying to figure out where he'll land. At first, it seemed as if Larkin had just three destinations he'd waive his no-move clause for, but he has expanded his list recently. The...
The Minnesota Wild are going to go hard after Dylan Larkin. Almost immediately after the Detroit Red Wings captain and first-line center requested a trade out of Michigan, the entire Wild front office leaped to their phones to ask Steve Yzerman what he wants from their roster to get the 29-year-old...
The Vegas Golden Knights will have screwed with everyone’s expectations once the season ends, especially the Minnesota Wild’s. Vegas hovered around +1000 odds (bet $100 to win $1000) of winning the Stanley Cup most of the season, meaning they were fringe contenders. Their odds naturally were h...
I watched a lot of Iowa Wild games this year, took my annual road trip to catch a home series, and also went down to Des Moines to cover the team’s final two games of the season. Through it all, I was able to observe and document the growth, difficulties, and progress that players encountered as the...
The Minnesota Wild were named as a team that Dylan Larkin wants to go to after his trade request. Initially, it was assumed that they would only face competition from the Vegas Golden Knights and the Florida Panthers to get the 30-year-old center, but now it seems like there are going to be several...
Listen to Bill Guerin talk about Michael McCarron after signing him to a six-year, $20 million contract, and you’ll hear a similar refrain. McCarron is a core player, a good locker room guy, and helps them on the ice. “He’s become an integral part of the team,” Guerin said Tuesday after negotia...
The Minnesota Wild have spent the past several seasons building a competitive roster defined by structure, discipline, and strong defensive play. While that identity has kept them in the playoff picture, it has also exposed a persistent issue: a lack of elite, game-breaking offensive talent down the...
Two things are true at the heart of Michael McCarron's six-year, $20 million contract. The first is that McCarron proved he can help a team win. His two goals both swung momentum the Minnesota Wild's way at crucial moments. McCarron was their leading penalty killer at forward, playing 30 short...
Bill Guerin has been forthright in saying he’s trying to add a No. 1 center, so naturally there’s a lot of speculation about who the Minnesota Wild are targeting. While bringing in a new player will be exciting, it’s also vital to examine the other part of those transactions. What the Wild will...
The Minnesota Wild want Dylan Larkin, and Larkin wants to play in St. Paul. Detroit Red Wings’ general manager Steve Yzerman had Larkin submit his list of teams he wants the Red Wings to trade him to, and he chose the Wild, the Vegas Golden Knights, and the Florida Panthers. However, Yzerman wants a...
If you were to take a stroll down the frigid streets of Edmonton, Alberta, you wouldn't have to look far to spot flashes of blue and orange. Those colours signify the city's deep love for the Edmonton Oilers. Growing up in Alberta’s capital, Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon was an Oiler...
The Minnesota Wild want a Number One Center. That's not necessarily news. You could write that at just about any point in the Wild's quarter-century-long history, and it'd be true. What is news is that a No. 1 Center wants Minnesota. Dylan Larkin wants out of Detroit, and Helene St. James of t...
The Minnesota Wild should prioritize re-signing Vladimir Tarasenko this offseason because he still gives them something they desperately need: proven scoring talent. In a league where finishing chances is often the difference between a good offense and a dangerous one, Tarasenko remains one of...
The Minnesota Wild are clearly going to look to upgrade the center position this offseason. While there were other problems up against the Colorado Avalanche in the second round, their center depth got the better of them as Joel Eriksson Ek was out for the series and the lack of true star power down...
As the early summer sun dipped behind the Carolina pines before Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Vegas Golden Knights, the atmosphere around Lenovo Center transformed. What had resembled a backyard barbecue an hour earlier became something louder, tighter,...
I watched a lot of Iowa Wild games this year, took my annual road trip to catch a home series, and also went down to Des Moines to cover the team’s final two games of the season. Through it all, I was able to observe and document the growth, difficulties, and progress that players encountered as the...
Dylan Larkin’s recent trade request should be good news for the Minnesota Wild. Larkin has to be serious if he’s asking to leave his hometown Detroit Red Wings, which took him in the first round of the 2014 draft. Insiders have also listed Minnesota as a viable destination. That feels like a u...
The Minnesota Wild have arrived at the exact moment they've been waiting for: A star center is forcing their team's hand to move them. Three-time All-Star and Team USA gold medalist Dylan Larkin has reportedly requested a trade, and the Detroit Red Wings may have to move on from their captain this s...