2000/01: After 7 years of political squabbling, following the Northstars move to Dallas, on where to build an arena, and if Minnesota should take an existing team, or get an expansion team the NHL returns to the "State of Hockey," home of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, as the Wild are one of 2 new teams, in the last of a 4-team expansion over 3 years. The Wild coached by Jacques Lemaire made debut on the road losing to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 3-1 on October 6th as fast skating rookie Marian Gaborik scores the team's first goal. Five days later the Wild would make their debut at the Xcel Energy Center skating to a 3-3 tie with the Philadelphia Flyers. A week later the Wild would get their first win as Gaborik scored twice in the 3rd period as the Wild beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-5 at home. Marian Gaborik would go on to lead the team in scoring with 18 goals and 18 assists as the Wild finished in last place in the Northwest Division with a typical expansion-like record of 25-39-13-5.2001/02: The Wild would get off to a strong start by getting at least 1 point in their first 7 games. However the Wild would come back to earth and would finish in last place again with a record of 26-35-12-9. However, along the way their were signs the Wild were improving as 2nd year speedster Marion Gaborik had a solid season with 30 goals as Andrew Brunette led the team in scoring with 69 points.2002/03: In their 3rd season the Wild would come flying out of the gate, as they posted an impressive record of 8-1-2-0 in October. The Wild would continue to play steady hockey all season as they made the playoff for the first time in franchise history with a solid record of 42-29-10-1 good enough for 3rd place in the Northwest Division. Leading the way for the Wild would be Marian Gaborik who scored 30 goals again while the goalies Dewayne Roloson (2.00 GAA) and Manny Fernandez (2.24) both played solid when called upon. In the playoffs the Wild were heavy underdogs facing the Colorado Avalanche. However, the Wild got off to a great start taking Game 1 in Colorado. However, the Wild would struggle losing the next 3 games, as they were nearly held scoreless in Games 3 and 4 at home. However, the Wild would not give up as they took Game 5 by a score of 3-2 to keep their hopes of an upset alive. In Game 6 the Wild would have to overcome adversity again as the Avalanche scored twice in the final 5 minutes to force overtime. However, 4 minutes into overtime Richard Park sent the Xcel Energy Center into a frenzy by scoring his second goal as the Wild forced a 7th game. Playing just 24 hours later in Colorado the Wild completed the comeback as Andrew Brunette faked out Avalanche goalie Patrick Roy in overtime to give the Wild an improbable 3-2 win. In the 2nd round the Wild would put themselves in a hole again falling behind 3 games to 1 against the Vancouver Canucks, losing 2 games in overtime that they had led late in the 3rd period. However, the Wild would rally again scoring 12 goals in 2 games to force a 7th game. In Game 7 the Wild would rally from a 2-0 deficit with 4 unanswered goals to advance to the Western Conference Finals, becoming the first team ever to overcome a 3-1 deficit twice in the same postseason. However the Wild would not have any time to get ready for the Conference Finals as they played their 4th game in 6 days at home, losing in double overtime 1-0 to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The Wild would not recover this time as they failed to score in the first 3 games as they were swept by the Ducks in 4 straight.2003/04: Coming off a trip to the Western Conference Finals there was an air of optimism. However as the season started the Wild were short-handed with Pascal Dupuis and Marian Gaborik holding out. After struggling in the first month the Wild finally got their two young stars signed but both struggled to get back into game shape as the Wild struggled through much of November. In a deep hole the Wild could not climb back into the playoffs despite finishing the season strong with wins in 5 of their last 6 games as they finished last in the competitive Northwest Division with a record of 30-29-20-3. Along the way the Wild began to gear up for the future trading away several of their older players that were apart of the franchise from the beginning including Brad Bombardir, and Jim Dowd.2004/05: Season Cancelled Due to Lock Out2005/06: Coming back from the Lock Out the Wild got off to a strong start winning five of their first seven games but quickly got swallowed up by the competition in the tough Northwest Division again as a mediocre November and December saw them land in the basement yet again as they never came close to the playoff picture again as they posted a record of 38-36-8. As the trade deadline approach the Wild were sellers trading Dwayne Roloson to the Edmonton Oilers, where he would become a playoff hero getting the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Finals (they lost to the carolina hurricanes). Despite the disappointing season the Wild saw team records set in goals by Marian Gaborik at 37 and points 79 by Brian Rolston.2006/07: To improve on a lackluster offense the Wild signed veteran Free Agents, Kim Johnsson, Mark Parrish, and Keith Carney. On the day of the NHL Entry Draft, they traded the 17th overall pick and prospect Patrick O'Sullivan to the Los Angeles Kings for veteran Pavol Demitra. The moves paid dividends right away as the Wild came flying out of the gate, winning their first six games as they held a 10-2-0 record after their first dozen games. However, the Wild came back to earth a bit in November as they won just 3 of their next 14 games as they lost Marion Gaborik to a groin injury. The Wild would continue to play mediocre hockey until Gaborik returned in January, however at the same time they lost Manny Fernandez to sprained knee. Fortunately for the Wild they had a solid goalie Niklas Backstrom in the AHL with the Houston Aeros ready to make the leap to the NHL, and when he took over for Fernandez he proved to be even better, as he 5 shutouts in 36 shots, while leading the NHL in GAA and save%. Led by Backstrom, and a nine game winning streak in March the Wild were able to reach the playoffs for just the second time in franchise history with a record of 48-26-8. However, in the playoffs against the eventual Stanley Cup Champions Anaheim Ducks, the Wild were clearly overmatched losing the series in five games.
MySpace Layouts
MySpace Graphics
MySpace Comments
