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Hockey Wilderness

A Minnesota Wild Blog that WON'T make you sick and kill you!

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The Dallas Stars Got Worse With the Tyler Myers Trade

The Dallas Stars saw how much better the Minnesota Wild got after trading for a Vancouver Canucks defenseman, and decided to follow suit on Wednesday. Unfortunately for them, the Stars did not land Quinn Hughes, but instead have opted to re-home the Chaos Giraffe. Tyler Myers got that nickname...

NHL

Fortitude Defines Robby Fabbri's Career

Very soon, the Robby Fabbri waiver claim will be buried under the sands of history. Typically, that process takes hundreds or even thousands of years. In the NHL, a single trade deadline can strike a waiver claim from your memory. Turning back the sands of history, Fabbri’s story evokes a quot...

NHL

Ryan O'Reilly Isn't the Kind Of Center the Wild Need

The Minnesota Wild should avoid a Ryan O'Reilly trade because the timing of his age curve and the structure of his contract clash with where this roster and cap sheet are headed over the next few seasons. Ryan O’Reilly is 35 and is firmly in the back half of his career. Even for elite two-way c...

"The Tourney" Has All the Ingredients To Deliver Another Unforgettable Chapter

Minnesotans call it “The Tourney” for a reason. The 2026 Minnesota boys high school hockey state tournament is set to turn Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul into the loudest building in the state from March 4-7, as 16 teams chase the dream of hoisting a championship trophy in front of a statewide aud...

NHL

Bill Guerin's Gritty Mistakes Are Getting Worse And Worse

There's no doubt that Bill Guerin is feeling himself right now. Coming off a Kirill Kaprizov extension, the Quinn Hughes trade, and a Gold Medal win with Team USA, he's maybe the strongest contender for GM of the Year. And especially with the gold medal, he did it his way. Guerin took criticism...

Wild Trade Valuable Draft Pick For Tall Fourth-Line Center

The Minnesota Wild have made their first trade in the week of the deadline! Boy, we hope it's someone cool and good and truly makes a massive impact on the team and the Wild didn't give up too much -- but we also understand if it was needed to give up a bunch of assets and... Wait, the Wild tra...

The Wild Should Steer Clear Of Charlie Coyle

The Minnesota Wild should resist the temptation to reunite with Charlie Coyle, even if he checks a few boxes they are desperate to fill down the middle. Coyle still brings size, versatility, and reliable two-way minutes. However, he’s 34, has a limited offensive ceiling, and timing concerns that don...

Which Off-the-Radar Trade Targets Make Sense For the Wild?

The Minnesota Wild are waiting it out as the trade deadline approaches, waiting for the New York Rangers to either accept or decline their standing offer for Vincent Trocheck. Trocheck has been tied to the Wild basically since the moment the Rangers announced their intention to rebuild. Bill G...

The Wild Must Proceed With Caution On Steven Stamkos

With the NHL trade deadline quickly approaching, reports are swirling about who Bill Guerin might acquire as his next big swing to contend this season. The Minnesota Wild are connected to players like Vincent Trochek and Robert Thomas. Still, everyone in Minnesota should be keeping an eye on Steven...

Vincent Trocheck Makes Most Sense As A Bridge To Danila Yurov

Bill Guerin was famously making his own meatballs when pulling off the Quinn Hughes trade, but it appears that this week, he's determined to import some gabagool from New York. As Friday's March 6 trade deadline approaches, it looks like the Minnesota Wild's No. 1 target is Italian-American cen...

Will the Wild Trade Ryan Hartman Before the Deadline?

We are now in the week of the NHL trade deadline and that means one thing: A whole lot of speculation about who will be moved after months of general inactivity across the league. Aside from the Minnesota Wild's blockbuster Quinn Hughes trade and the somewhat boring move of Artemi Panarin going to t...

Quinn Hughes' SNL Appearance Didn't Do Enough Damage Control

The US Men’s Hockey Team created some awful press for themselves in the aftermath of their gold medal win. While the NHL doesn’t seem to actually care about growing the game, despite repeatedly expressing a desire to do so, they decided to trot out two of the Hughes brothers to help fill the m...

The Real Duel Between the Wild and Avalanche Is About To Begin

The Minnesota Wild closed the gap on the league-best Colorado Avalanche last night, moving within five points of the Central Division lead after a 5-2 win -- with a possible assist from our own Justin Wiggins???? We'll never know for sure. Despite the Avs out-attempting the Wild by a 65-to-37 m...

I Was Holding the Viral Sign That Trolled Nathan MacKinnon

Yes, that was me. Standing behind the glass as the Colorado Avalanche went through their pre-game warmups afforded me the perfect opportunity to troll Team Canada one last time, and perhaps simultaneously irk Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon leading up to the Minnesota Wild’s return to act...

NHL

Wild Have Top Central Spot In Sight After 5-2 Win Over Avalanche

The Minnesota Wild needed this one. On Thursday night, in their returning game, back from the Olympic break, the Wild were staring down the barrel of the Colorado Avalanche. The NHL's top team who, while they were stumbling before the league paused, are still claiming to be the best team in the leag...

I Won A Gold Medal And All I Got Was This Lousy Burger Party

The Minnesota Wild had all the momentum in the world when Jack Hughes put a puck past Jordan Binnington in overtime to clinch Team USA's Gold Medal. Each member of both teams got to play a hero at some point. Matt Boldy scored the opening goal. Brock Faber was the lone defenseman on 1:23 of a...

We're Starting To See the Fruits Of Guerin's Vision

Team USA’s Olympic Gold Medal victory over Canada feels like the biggest moment for hockey in the United States since the Miracle on Ice. While it may not have reached the lofty unifying sociopolitical status of the 1980 Olympics, 2026 proved that America could come out on top in a best-on-best tour...

NHL

Former Wild Defenseman Criticizes US Men's Olympic Team

That's Wild Jon Merrill, a former defenseman for the Minnesota Wild, has publicly called out the US men's Olympic team for their disregard to stand up for the gold medal-winning women's team in a now viral clip during their locker room celebration. Good to see an actual hockey player speak o...

What Would It Take For the Wild To Trade For Jack Hughes?

Any team trying to acquire Jack Hughes will be paying a “franchise player” tax because of his talent and team-friendly contract. The New Jersey Devils have Hughes locked in for 8 years at $64 million, with an $8 million cap hit through 2029-30, which is a below-market number for a true first-l...

John Hynes Has Everything To Gain In the Second Half

There will be a lot on the line when the Minnesota Wild resume their NHL schedule on Thursday night. The Wild are visiting the Colorado Avalanche in their first game after the Olympic break. They're hanging onto the second spot in the Central Division and looking to hold off the Dallas Stars for any...

What A Vincent Trocheck Trade Could Look Like For The Wild

The NHL trade deadline is quickly approaching and the Minnesota Wild still need to find some help. With just 10 days until no more trades can happen until the Stanley Cup has been awarded, the Wild have a brief amount of time to try and get that top-six forward (preferably a center) that they s...

It Took 3 Months For Quinn Hughes to Become the Wild's Biggest Star

Throughout their 25 years of existence, the Minnesota Wild have been searching for a true superstar. Many have entered the conversation, including Marian Gaborik, Zach Parise, and Kirill Kaprizov. Still, few have managed to earn the gravitational pull of a bona fide star. But less than three mo...

Bill Guerin Gets His Flowers For Building Team USA

That's Wild After Team USA took home the gold medal, a whole lot of people are coming out and saying that Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin had his fingerprints all over it and truly deserves a whole lot of credit for finishing on top of the hockey world. Will it translate to the Wi...

Bill Guerin Had To Know Better Than Letting Kash Patel Steal His Team's Spotlight

Generally, I operate under a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy regarding an athlete's political beliefs. As a careful observer of the hit HBO documentary "Heated Rivalry," I found that absolutely zero of the players were reading "The State and Revolution*" or speaking complimentarily of Che Guevara. By...

NHL