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Hockey Wilderness

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

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The Wild Should Keep the Team Together Through the Olympic Break

The Minnesota Wild have picked up points in five of their past six games, a reminder that patience with this group might be the smartest path forward. As tempting as it may be to shake up the roster, the way this team has handled adversity, leaned on its core, and integrated new pieces suggests that...

The Wild Must Make A Painful Decision With Jesper Wallstedt

Things did not look good for Minnesota Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt at the end of the first period on Tuesday night. He had given up three goals, and the Wild were down 3-0 against the lowly Chicago Blackhawks. A save on a Connor Bedard shot in the second period that almost trickled past h...

Jordan Kyrou Can Find His Scoring Touch Again In Minnesota

The Minnesota Wild should target Robert Thomas from the St. Louis Blues to improve their center position. Also, they should target Jordan Kyrou, who hasn’t taken a step forward after scoring 70 points last season. He has only 24 points in 42 games, which puts him on pace for just 41 points. That dro...

Carson Lambos Is Making Quiet Progress In An Established Role

Carson Lambos’ transition into a bigger role with the Iowa Wild has been more of a steady climb than a sudden leap, and that’s what the organization wanted from one of its most important young defensive prospects. After a brief taste of NHL action and another half-season of AHL work, Lambos, 2...

NHL

The Wild Should Hold Onto Jesper Wallstedt

Jesper Wallstedt is exactly the kind of goaltender you keep and build around, not the kind you move for a short-term fix, and the Minnesota Wild are in a rare position where having two legitimate starters could be the backbone of a deep playoff run. The Minnesota Wild didn’t draft Wallstedt to...

Nico Hischier Would Put the Wild On the Avalanche's Level

At the beginning of the NHL season, the hockey world looks at the teams destined to be bad and starts watching the big names who might be moved later. For Minnesota Wild fans desperate to see their team land a center, the speculation seemed to focus on Dylan Larkin and Tage Thompson. The proble...

Joel Eriksson Ek Is Rounding Into Playoff Form at the Perfect Time

When Joel Eriksson Ek went down with an injury in the Minnesota Wild’s January 8 game against the Seattle Kraken, it was cause for significant concern. The Wild already need center depth, and that issue becomes even worse without Eriksson Ek on the ice. To add to the distress, Eriksson Ek has...

Wild Could Trade Jesper Wallstedt Before Deadline

That's Wild The Minnesota Wild are looking to make their first trade after acquiring Quinn Hughes and there is loads of pressure to get this right. They need a top-six forward and have been actively shopping for one even more since moving Marco Rossi to the Canucks in the blockbuster trade -...

What Have We Learned About the Quinn Hughes Wild Through 20 Games?

I’m going to talk about Thanksgiving a little bit here, which is a very strange thing to write about in January. Not only is the holiday ten months away, but there’s very little to be thankful for at this time in Minnesota. The weather sucks. It’s so cold that dogs go unwalked for days in a ro...

Vladimir Tarasenko Has Stepped Up When the Wild Needed Him Most

Vladimir Tarasenko has recently turned a difficult stretch marred by injuries around him into a personal surge. He has rediscovered his finishing touch and is reminding everyone that the Wild brought him in to stabilize their scoring on the wing. With key forwards sidelined, Tarasenko has responded...

We Are Not Talking About Hockey Today

There will be no articles on Hockey Wilderness about the Minnesota Wild today. We are partaking in the economic blackout of the Twin Cities on January 23. We are standing in solidarity with our writers, editors, and commenters who are currently under ICE occupation in the Twin Cities....

Hunter Haight’s Game Is Starting To Translate

As the Minnesota Wild have found themselves once again ravaged by injuries this season, the “next man up” mentality that has characterized their locker room over the past several seasons has recently turned into “next four men up,” as the team’s game rosters have become increasingly populated with A...

NHL

Robert Thomas Should Be Guerin's Primary Deadline Target

The Minnesota Wild must improve their center depth at the trade deadline. Vincent Trocheck is one of general manager Bill Guerin‘s options. Still, he’s over 30, and many fans are tired of adding older players. That concern makes sense. Could the St. Louis Blues trade Robert Thomas to the Wild?...

Matt Boldy's Contract Is the Minnesota Wild's True Stanley Cup Window

Of all the debates of what the Minnesota Wild should target, might land, or will give up at the March 6 trade deadline, the talk boils down to one fundamental question. What, exactly, is the Wild's window? Bill Guerin has said the organization is in the third year of its five-year plan, a...

NHL

Does Wild Trading For Artemi Panarin Make Sense?

The Minnesota Wild are in a tough spot. They clearly upgraded their team earlier when they traded for world-class defenseman Quinn Hughes -- but now we're all left wondering if it was actually enough for them to make a decent run in the playoffs. One way that they could have that possibility be...

The Wild Should Be Holding Their Breath Ahead of the Olympics

The Minnesota Wild have faced their share of challenges over the years. While getting out of the first round of the playoffs remains their largest hurdle, they also haven't been able to stay healthy or put together a full season recently. The Wild ran into that roadblock this week. Matt Boldy,...

What Kind Of Impact Would Vincent Trocheck Make On the Wild?

The Minnesota Wild are expressing interest in hard-nosed, two-way New York Rangers center Vincent Trocheck. Last summer, I wrote about Trocheck being a good fit for the Wild. Now it looks like general manager Bill Guerin wants to trade for him. Let's face it, the Wild aren't getting a fr...

Danila Yurov Is Earning A Bigger Role in the Wild Offense

While developing young players has been a bit rocky in the Minnesota Wild organization over the past few years, give them credit where it's due: They seem to have nailed it with Danila Yurov. One of the Wild's two first-rounders from the 2022 Draft, Yurov made the trek overseas this summer for...

Marcus Foligno's First Hat Trick Pushes Wild Past Maple Leafs

At the age of 34 in the NHL, there's not many firsts left for most players. But veteran winger Marcus Foligno managed to score his first career hat trick against the Toronto Maple Leafs Monday night as the Minnesota Wild topped them by a score of 6-3. It wasn't necessarily the most beautiful co...

Wild's Injuries Require Kaprizov To Return To MVP Form

The Minnesota Wild are back on their "Everyone Is Injured" bulls*** again. After a plague of devastating injuries in the 2024-25 season, the Wild managed to get through about half the season relatively unscathed. But the specter of missed time comes for everyone, eventually, and it's Minnesota's tur...