Fleury had given up seven goals in a 7-3 loss to the Rangers on opening night at Xcel Energy Center, and now it was four goals on 14 shots in what became a 7-6 loss to the Kings. The final goal of the first period from Alex Iafallo came on a shot from the blue line in which Fleury had clear vision of the puck and still managed to allow it to get past him. Fleury, welcomed as a hero when general manager Bill Guerin acquired him at the trade deadline last season, heard a chorus of boos.

“I don’t blame them. I’d boo myself,” he said. “I was not good. I feel bad for the fans. I feel bad for my teammates. I’ve got to be better. I’ve got to step up and give our team a chance to win. There’s some tough goals. A few of them. Still, I’ve got to make some saves. Especially the stupid last one there.”

Fleury initially used a much stronger word in describing that goal before quickly apologizing. But the word he picked wasn’t nearly as offensive as the goal he allowed.

Wild coach Dean Evason, who despises lifting a goalie, much less a decorated one like Fleury, brought in offseason acquisition Filip Gustavsson in the second period. Gustavsson gave up the final three Los Angeles goals on 20 shots. Evason, not surprisingly, continued to say all the right things about Fleury, but he then made a decision that spoke volumes.

Divine intervention may be what it takes the turn the Wild’s goaltending woes around. (MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

Evason picked the 24-year-old Gustavsson to start Monday night’s game against the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. It was a move that provided a clear indication of the Wild’s concern about Fleury having surrendered 11 goals in four periods.

The Wild played its best game Monday, but Gustavsson’s inability to stop the puck led to a 6-3 loss. The worst goal came with the score tied 2-2, when Nathan MacKinnon dumped the puck toward the Wild net from the neutral zone and Gustavsson failed to cover it. Mikko Rantanen swooped in and put the puck into the Wild net.

It was a back-breaking, can’t happen goal against a Wild team that is coming off a franchise-best 113-point season and is in desperate need of a lift. Of course, the fact Fleury wasn’t in net was the main story. The Wild’s goaltending struggles have provided some early-season “I told you so” ammunition for those who questioned Guerin’s decision to sign Fleury to a two-year, $7 million deal in July after he was less than stellar in starting the first five games of the Wild’s six-game playoff exit against the Blues last spring.

A week after Fleury signed, Guerin dealt disgruntled goalie Cam Talbot to the Ottawa Senators for Gustavsson. The hope had been that Fleury and Talbot could share the net, but Talbot was less than pleased with the fact he didn’t start against the Blues until Game 6 of the playoffs. Instead of having the luxury of splitting time between Fleury and the 35-year-old Talbot, Fleury became the main man in a season in which he will turn 38 on Nov. 28. (Talbot is currently sidelined for five-to-seven weeks because of an upper body injury.)

So far, Fleury has looked every bit his age and Gustavsson, who has made 24 career starts in three seasons, isn’t magically going to turn into a No. 1 goalie. The Wild does have 2020 first-round pick Jesper Wallstedt at Iowa of the American Hockey League, but the soon-to-be 20-year-old just arrived from Sweden and the Wild almost certainly won’t rush him.

Meanwhile, Evason will do his best to fend off the goaltending critics and hope that Fleury can get on track and the rest of his team can play a more responsible defensive game.

“Goals against is a concern,” Evason said when asked about the goaltending concerns. “It’s not on the goalie. It’s on the goalie. It’s on the defense. It’s on the forwards. It’s on the coaches. It’s on all of us. We’re giving up way too many goals. That’s not one that’s on an individual trait. Sure, we got some bad hops and bounces and situations or whatever. Have we let in a bad goal? Sure. Have we made frickin’ mistakes defensively? Absolutely. Have we not done things up the ice offensively? Sure. We’ve all done that. Have we made bad coaching decisions? Clearly we have. Otherwise we wouldn’t be 0-3. We’re all responsible. We’ll all be accountable, and we’ll get out of this together.”

As bad as Minnesota’s goaltending has been, opponents have found no shortage of clear paths to the Wild net this season. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

The question is how soon? The Wild closes a four-game, season-opening homestand on Thursday night against Vancouver, having failed to hold a lead in 180 minutes of play and having given up an NHL-worst 20 goals (one empty-netter). Confidence is clearly lacking. There is no better way to get it back than for Fleury to come out and have a strong game against the Canucks before the Wild embarks on a five-game trip.

Otherwise, the concern that has begun to permeate Xcel Energy Center could soon turn into full-blown panic.

The post Red Light District appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

It didn’t come close to happening. The Wild made the NHL’s postseason tournament for the next six seasons, but only advanced to the second round twice.

Minnesota missed the playoffs in 2018-19 before making three more appearances, the final one after Parise and Suter had their contracts bought out. The general managers have changed, the coaches have changed and so have the players. The disappointment has not. Three more quick exits from the playoffs and no second-round appearance since 2015.

The Wild’s most recent postseason loss might have been the most disappointing. A franchise-record 113-point season and second-place finish in the Central Division was followed by a six-game loss to the St. Louis Blues in the opening round last spring. General manager Bill Guerin liked the team’s chances so much he acquired future Hall of Fame goalie Marc-Andre Fleury at the trade deadline.

The Wild were all in. And then they were out.

“I was not a nice person to be around for like the week,” Leipold said of his reaction to elimination. “We weren’t ready for it. I wasn’t ready for it. We had a better team than that. It didn’t happen. We didn’t win the games we needed to win. One of you guys said, everybody that didn’t have the name Kirill Kaprizov really needs to think about how they contribute in playoffs. Kirill was great. And other players, we need to step up and, you know, it’s gonna happen. The entire organization was just sick about that.”

As great as Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov is, he’ll need teammates to step up in the spring for Minnesota to have any chance to avoid another Stanley Cup first-round exit. (MHM Photo / Jonathan Watkins)

The Wild will open their season on Thursday night against the New York Rangers looking to jettison the sour taste of their latest playoff ouster. They will do it without winger Kevin Fiala and his 33 goals. He was shipped to the to the Los Angeles Kings in a salary-cap related move that resulted from the $12.7 million the Wild doesn’t have because the Parise and Suter buyouts. That number will increase to $14.7 million the following two seasons, although the NHL’s cap ceiling is expected to increase. Cam Talbot, who was the Wild’s top goalie for much of last season, was traded to Ottawa after it became clear he wasn’t happy with the plan for him and Fleury.

Kaprizov and his 47 goals are back; 2020 first-round center Marco Rossi is expected to contribute; and a solid blueline returns. So what are Leipold’s expectations for his 15th season in charge of the Wild?

“Our expectation is to get out of the first round,” he said. “I think that’s a fair expectation to have. I think we have a team that can do it. You know, a lot of good things have to happen. We know that, and we have to work hard enough so those good things happen to us. … Let’s first all get out of the first round and then we’ll see what happens.”

It’s an underwhelming response for an owner who once declared it was Stanley Cup or bust for his team. But it’s also an indication of Leipold’s realization of how difficult it has been for his team — or teams if you include his time owning the Nashville Predators — to have success in the postseason. 

Guerin, who won two Stanley Cups as a player and was part of two more Cup winnings teams as an executive with the Pittsburgh Penguins, has made significant changes to the Wild roster, altering the makeup of the team both on the ice and in the locker room. He also has rebuilt the team’s prospect pool, giving the franchise hope that young talent can help them through two more seasons of salary cap issues.

“This is my 24th year, 14th here, 24 years owning a franchise,” Leipold said. “I’m getting a little itchy. I know how hard it is. … I look back at teams that have done it a number of times, including Chicago and Tampa Bay and all the teams that have done it recently. You’ve got to have a lot of respect for those teams because it’s a hard thing to win. It’s a hard thing to get out of the first round. But, yeah, I’d say I’m a little itchy. I think we’ve got a really good team with an open window that is pretty long right now. And I think we’ll have a lot of fun in the next couple years and it’s my hope that we’ll win it.”

Or, at the very least, be playing far deeper into the spring.

The post Itching To Advance appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Wild GM Bill Guerin’s shrewd moves have earned him The State of Hockey’s endorsement for higher office. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

The Wild have benefitted from Bill Guerin’s roster reconstruction, but the general manager did not remake this team in order to set regular-season records in wins and points. He did it so the Wild could be well positioned entering the playoffs and then have guys in place who were capable of winning when the hockey is at its best and toughest. 

Guerin knows what it takes to hoist a Stanley Cup — he won two as a player and two as an executive in Pittsburgh — and is well-acquainted with the massive price that must be paid by anyone who isn’t happy with anything but 16 wins over four series. 

That is why he bought out winger Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter last summer, despite the money left on their once-lengthy contracts that were supposed to turn around the franchise. It’s why former general manager Paul Fenton began the process of cleaning out the locker room and Guerin continued it. It’s also why Guerin watched his team lose back-to-back one-sided games against Calgary less than a month before this season’s NHL trade deadline and decided the Wild needed to get bigger, tougher and better in goal.

Guerin knows that indecision, or worrying about the public popularity of a player, is a recipe to mediocrity. In sports, and especially playoff hockey, nice guys (at least on the ice) do finish last and that isn’t part of the Wild or Guerin’s plan.

But this also means this Wild team enters the playoffs with immense expectations that the Xcel Energy Center will be the place to be into June. The Wild haven’t gotten past the second round of the playoffs since making an improbable run to the Western Conference Finals in 2003. The Wild were only in their third season and no one thought they had a chance to get past the uber-talented Colorado Avalanche in the first round.

How many times will this scene be repeated in the postseason? The answer will determine how far the Wild advance in the Stanley Cup playoffs. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

A failure to get past the Blues this spring will be considered a major disappointment for both the Wild and their fan base. It’s not that St. Louis isn’t a good team. The Blues, who won the 2019 Stanley Cup, had 311 goals this season, one more than the Wild and one less than the first-place Avalanche. St. Louis’ blue line is no longer as good as it was in 2019, but everyone on their top three lines has 20 or more goals. The Wild also has plenty of offensive fire power, although it’s concerning that the Blues’ power play (27 percent, second in NHL) is superior to the Wild’s (20.5 percent, 18th).

That is going to have to change in the postseason and that will need to start with first-line winger Kirill Kaprizov and second-line winger Kevin Fiala. Both had incredible regular seasons, with Kaprizov setting franchise marks with 47 goals and 108 points and Fiala scoring 33 goals and 85 points.

But as Kaprizov learned in the Wild’s seven-game loss in the first round against Vegas last season, time and space disappear in the playoffs and driving a star player to the point of frustration is the goal. Kaprizov only had two goals and three points and was a minus-3 in the seven games, and Fiala had a goal and an assist and was a minus-6. The Blues will focus on Kaprizov, but that doesn’t give him a pass to disappear and Fiala’s line, which includes Frederick Gaudreau and rookie Matt Boldy, must thrive if they aren’t the focus of the Blues’ defensive effort.

It’s also why Guerin acquired fourth-line winger Nic Deslauriers near the deadline in order to give the Wild even more of a physical presence than they had with guys like third-line wingers Marcus Foligno and Jordan Greenway. The message to the Blues: You want to try to beat us with your skill? Bring it on. You want to make this about toughness? We can do that, too.

The Wild and Blues will be meeting in the playoffs for the third time. Minnesota won in six games in 2015 before being swept by the Chicago Blackhawks, and then lost in five games to the Blues in the first round in 2017. This season, the Wild and Blues met three times, with St. Louis winning in the Winter Classic on Jan. 1, and then recording two overtime wins in April in St. Louis. The Wild does have the advantage of home ice, given they had four more points than St. Louis.

Minnesota’s goaltending tandem of Marc-Andre Fleury (pictured) and Cam Talbot ranks among the league’s best and both should see a lot of ice time if the Wild make a deep postseason run. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

The most important thing in this series will be who gets the better goaltending. That’s why Guerin obtained veteran Marc-Andre Fleury at the deadline to pair with Cam Talbot. Talbot has been brilliant since Fleury arrived, while Fleury cooled off after a great start during his time in Minnesota. Wild coach Dean Evason surprised no one on Sunday by declining to name who will start Game 1 on Monday night at Xcel Energy Center.

No matter who that goalie is, he and the rest of his teammates will enter the postseason with the expectation that Guerin has given them everything they need to play deep into the spring. The rest is up to them.

The post It’s About Winning appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Photo courtesy of Vintage Minnesota Hockey

The key word for us aging folks, or at least many of us, is more sensible. Perfect? Far from it. There never will be a March that will pass without some of us lamenting the demise of the one-class, eight-team, three-day tournament that at one point was such a big event WCCO-TV paid more to televise it than the North Stars got for their entire season of games on a local TV affiliate.

I’ve spent years in print and on airwaves (and now podcasts) expressing my disdain for the two class tournament, but of late I’ve come to realize it goes beyond that. As someone who began following hockey closely in the late 1970s and was addicted to the sport in the following decade, what I really miss is the magic of everything that surrounded those tournaments.

The one class format is only a part of that. The old St. Paul Civic Center had its faults but for three days each March it was a magical place. The key was being able to get into an event that was considered one of the toughest tickets in town. I was 14 in 1984 when my mother finally broke down and agreed that we could at least go to an evening session and try to get tickets.

Bloomington Kennedy beat Burnsville, 4-2, and St. Paul Johnson beat Hill-Murray, 3-2. I was hooked. The telecast only conveyed a portion of the pageantry that went along with a tournament that was so special Sports Illustrated (when it was the most important sports publication around) sent writer E.M. Swift to do a lengthy piece on what the event meant to Minnesota. You also didn’t get that marvelous smell of mini donuts if you weren’t inside the Civic Center.

The tournament likely meant something different to each person who was fortunate enough to attend or watch it at the time. From 1987 through the final one class tournament, I attended every game either as a fan or a statistician based in the truck underneath the arena working for WCCO. 

This created multiple memories that went beyond any actual games.

Photo courtesy of Vintage Minnesota Hockey

— The clear boards: The tournament returned to St. Paul, and the Civic Center, in 1976 after being played at Met Center in Bloomington starting in 1969. The building, which sits on the same spot as Xcel Energy Center occupies today, featured one of the most unique looks of any hockey arena in the country because it had clear boards. Research has revealed that was the case because the front row seats were set back far enough that it wouldn’t have been possible to lean forward and see the puck. But when you turned on the television and saw those clear boards, you knew you were watching the state tournament. 

Photo courtesy of Vintage Minnesota Hockey

— Standing in line: I don’t recall ever being able to buy tickets in advance, so that meant being willing to stand in a long line in the Civic Center lobby and hope you could get to the window before the remaining tickets were gone. I recall the floor on which you stood was sloped and that the easiest way to get to the line was to come through the underground entrance that was attached to the parking ramp across the street. That ramp still exists — you know the one with levels that are listed as 3 1/2, 4 1/2 and so on — but the underground portion (which I think might have been off level 3 1/2) is long gone. The standing in line portion, of course, could be avoided if you found a ticket scalper willing to make a fair deal. The more teams that were eliminated, the better your chances of getting a ticket cheap.

— The garage door: One of the magical moments before each session was the sound of the mammoth garage door in the Civic Center lobby rolling upward. There was a buzz of excitement as a dash was made toward the likely overwhelmed ticket takers.

Burnsville takes the ice in a 1983 tournament game. (Photo courtesy of Vintage Minnesota Hockey)

— An interesting style choice: The 1980s had some questionable style choices and hockey wasn’t exempt. There were plenty of high school teams that switched to long hockey pants known as Cooperalls. It didn’t last but teams from Burnsville to Hill-Murray wore them — the Flyers and Whalers of the NHL also used them in the early 1980s — and, just like the clear boards, a photo of the odd-looking equipment brings a smile to many of our faces. At the least, it causes a chuckle.

Willard Ikola (Photo courtesy of Vintage Minnesota Hockey)

— That houndstooth hat: Growing up in Minnetonka, there was no opponent who was despised as much as the Edina Hornets but that was because they were so good. The Hornets made six appearances in the tournament from 1982 to 1989 and won it in ’82, ’84 and ’88. Standing behind the bench for each championship was legendary coach Willard Ikola, who always wore his houndstooth hat. Ikola was to high school hockey what Bud Grant was to the Vikings. The man commanded respect the moment he walked into the arena.

— Meanwhile in Bloomington: While getting to the Civic Center was the important thing, the Section finals also had plenty of buzz. Played before large crowds at the Met Center, the Saturday afternoon Section 5 and 6 finals (as I recall), served as a doubleheader before the North Stars usually played at home that night. The day of the State Tournament championship game, the North Stars also often played a matinee at the Met. 

— The voice of the tournament: You didn’t think I was going to forget about the man who has been seen as Mr. Hockey in Minnesota for many decades did you? Nanne began working on the state tournament coverage in 1964 at the age of 22, and despite considering giving up the role for many years now, we’re fortunate he hasn’t. Nanne’s voice might be more associated with the high school hockey tournament than anything else. It’s the same way Al Shaver’s voice made those from my generation instantly think of the North Stars. The impressive thing was when WCCO-TV got the rights in the 1980s, they paired Nanne with a young play-by-play talent by the name of Chris Cuthbert. Cuthbert, now 64, has been one of the most recognizable NHL voices in Canada for years.

The 1985 WCCO-TV state tournament broadcast team: (Front row from L to R) Lou Nanne, Ralph John Fritz, Mark Rosen and Herb Brooks. (Back row) Doug Woog, Steve Doyle, Tom Hanneman, Tony Parker, Paul Braun and Chris Cuthbert 

The post One-Class Wonder appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

“That’s the word we use most and that’s what it is,” Evason said in response to the word fragile being attached to his team. “… What we’ve done is praised our group all year for just staying the course and not panicking, but, human nature, we are a fragile group right now.”

If Evason’s words were meant to show that everything will be fine, it didn’t work. The tone in Nico Sturm’s voice reflected a player who is searching for answers, and alternate captain Matt Dumba, back from injury after missing 10 games, had just addressed his teammates in the hopes of finding the right words.

Let me offer one that comes to mind: Panic.

Kirill Kaprizov and his Minnesota Wild teammates are searching everywhere to find their game with their playoff hopes slipping away. (MH Photo / Rick Olson)

The fact Evason acknowledged his team is fragile creates plenty of questions about the Wild as a group. This collection was supposed to be different and played like it was different for an extended time this season. No more Zach Parise, no more Ryan Suter, and none of the others who too often seemed like they had excuses at the ready whenever the Wild hit one of these rough stretches.

General manager Bill Guerin paid big money to jettison Parise and Suter with the feeling that a remade roster would respond in a much different manner when things didn’t go well. Guerin and Evason had to like what they saw early as the Wild sat at 19-6-1 following a victory on Dec. 9 at San Jose. That was followed by a five-game losing streak and then a 10-game point streak that included nine wins.

The Wild’s up-and-down season appeared to become more stable as they went 3-3 over the next six games. But the Wild have won only once since Feb. 22 and that was a come-from-behind victory last week over a terrible Philadelphia club. The Wild’s inconsistency has become alarming and their special teams have been dreadful. In the past seven games, the Wild are 1-for-20 on the power play and have given up 10 power-plays goals on 23 penalty kills.

The hope that once existed for a deep playoff run has been replaced with doubt about this team’s ability to overcome regular-season adversity. The NHL playoffs are nothing but adversity, and yet Evason doesn’t seem all that bothered by his team’s mindset.

“All the good things that we do don’t seem to work out and the bad things become magnified,” said Sturm, who gave the Wild a 1-0 lead in the first period Sunday before Dallas scored the next four goals. “It’s like (we make) a little mistake and it just blows up. That’s just how it feels to me. I said in the first intermission, we can either feel sorry for ourselves, it might go on another three games like this or five games, I don’t know? Maybe next game our luck turns around.

“Dumbs said in the locker room, we just have to take a look in the mirror tonight and ask ourselves if that’s all we’ve got right now, or if we have to change something. Whatever it might be. If you need another hour of sleep everyday or take your vitamins, I don’t know what it is. Like Dumbs said, I like this group and it would be a shame if we keep going like this and we can’t stay together. If we keep going (like this), we all know something is going to happen.”

Sturm was referring to the NHL trade deadline on March 21. It was assumed a few months ago that Guerin might try to acquire a Top Six center. But the way the Wild are now playing, they also could use a big presence on the blue line and the most glaring need appears to be in goal.

Kaapo Kahkonen started for the second consecutive game on Sunday but was lifted in the second period after giving up a soft goal to Jason Robertson to make it 4-1. Veteran Cam Talbot, who also is struggling, finished the game and was sitting on the bench as the Stars scored two late goals into an empty net after Kirill Kaprizov had scored twice with the Wild skating 6-on-5.

Like Dumbs said, I like this group and it would be a shame if we keep going like this and we can’t stay together. — Nico Sturm

Will Guerin still make a move? One would have to think given how this team played earlier in the season he is going to do something to provide a spark. It would be a shame to just give up and let this once promising season go down the drain.

But privately Guerin and Evason have to be baffled by what’s happening. The Wild might not be as good as we thought — the team that had the third-best points percentage in the NHL on Valentine’s Day (.732) is now 13th in the same category (.620) — but Guerin and Evason were known as tough-minded players during their NHL careers and seeing this collection lose all confidence is alarming.

The Wild will play host to the Rangers on Tuesday before heading on a two-game trip and then returning home for nine in a row. That stretch will include Boston, Vegas, Vancouver, Colorado and Pittsburgh. If the Wild hasn’t rediscovered their mojo by that time, they likely won’t be playing any postseason games.

“I don’t want to say we’re panicked or scared to lose, but everybody realizes what’s going on and we’re grasping at something, trying to stop it and it’s not working out right now,” Sturm said. “I don’t really have the answers for you guys. I just know that it’s not for lack of effort.”

If that was meant to sound reassuring, it didn’t do the trick.

The post Panic at the Xcel appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Why? After all, that excellence has been the result of having a superstar in Kirill Kaprizov, a sniper in Kevin Fiala, a deep blue line corps and a solid goaltending duo that includes an All-Star in Cam Talbot. And that’s just the start.

This would cause the majority of fan bases to have a sense of bravado, especially with their team set to return from the All-Star break with a 28-10-3 record (59 points) and a win percentage (.720) that is second in the Western Conference to the Colorado Avalanche (.773).

But longtime Minnesota sports fans know better. Waiting for something to go wrong is a part of their existence. Fortunately, this team isn’t led by the usual suspects who seem predisposed to the sense of dread that often accompanies the type of success the Wild have experienced.

General manager Bill Guerin has won four Stanley Cups, including two during his playing career, and Dean Evason’s calm and confident approach behind the bench only serves to embolden a roster that has gone from self-centered to overflowing with leadership.

It seems too good to be true — there’s that paranoia again — but that’s the interesting thing. From the Guerin to Evason to the locker room, this collection has little interest in playing the, “what could go wrong card” and is far more focused on, “why not us?”

The Wild will return from the break on Tuesday by facing the Jets in Winnipeg as they begin to make up games that were postponed because of COVID-19 and play a portion of the schedule that initially was supposed to be a hiatus for the Olympic break. The Wild is one team that should feel no disappointment from the NHL’s decision to forego participating in the Games. The chance to get back to work as soon as possible is far more important.

The Wild have tied the 2016-17 team for the best first-half performance in franchise history and the team is on pace for a franchise-record 118 points. Minnesota finished with a franchise-best 49 wins and 106 points in 2016-17, but was dispatched by the St. Louis Blues in five games in the opening round of the playoffs. That came during a stretch where the Wild made the playoffs for six consecutive seasons but lost in the first round four times.

Minnesota Wild coach Dean Evason has been pushing all the right buttons since taking over from Bruce Boudreau nearly two years ago. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

The same thing happened last season as the Wild’s success in a pandemic-shortened year — one in which Kaprizov won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie — still ended in a first-round playoff loss to Vegas, albeit in seven games. But this version of the Wild feels different. Zach Parise and Ryan Suter were both bought out by Guerin in the offseason and the locker room sounds like it’s a very different place. After almost every victory, Evason raves about the chemistry of this team and how well it works together.

It’s hard to argue considering the team’s point production. There also is a major difference with how this group handles adversity. Where once the Wild seemed to be a group that loved to create crisis, it’s now a collection of players who are nearly unflappable and relish the opportunity to overcome the difficult.

Down by a goal or two late in the third period? No problem. The Wild have scored an NHL-leading 12 goals this season with the goalie pulled in the third period. 

There was a feeling the Wild might be headed for one of their annual funks when they lost their fifth in a row in the Winter Classic against the Blues on New Year’s Day, but that has been followed by the team’s second point streak of nine games or more this season. The Wild will face the Jets having gone 9-0-1 in their past 10. Minnesota is third in the Central Division, one point behind Nashville and nine behind Colorado. The Predators, however, have played five more games than the Wild and the Avalanche have played three more.

“It’s very fun,” said Fiala, who has points in 12 consecutive gams to match Mikael Granlund’s franchise record from 2017. “We’re winning, it feels like all the time, you know. We’re confident we’re going to win every game no matter who we play. It’s still early to say because we’ve got 40 games to go, but I have big confidence in this group that we can go all the way, for sure.”

Kaprizov got off to a slow start after signing a five-year, $45 million contract just before training camp. But those struggles are long forgotten and the first-time All-Star leads the Wild with 19 goals and 53 points in 40 games. Kaprizov already can be called the best player in franchise history and the gap between him and Marian Gaborik gets wider by the game.

Kaprizov also was outstanding as a rookie before accumulating only two goals and three points in the Wild’s playoff loss to Vegas. The Golden Knights focused on Kaprizov, taking away his time and space, and that was a big part of the reason they advanced.

But that’s where Guerin has built what looks like a different team.

The Wild goes four lines deep and winger Matthew Boldy’s impact playing with Fiala since he was called up from Iowa of the AHL has turned Fiala from frustrated to fantastic. That also enables the Wild to use the line of Joel Eriksson Ek between Marcus Foligno and Jordan Greenway as a true third line. Eriksson Ek deserves to be in the discussion for the Selke Trophy given how effective he has been in shutting down the opposing team’s top center.

Guerin lost defenseman Carson Soucy to Seattle in the expansion draft and saw Ian Cole sign with Carolina as a free agent after providing needed leadership on and off the ice last season. Those looked like two potentially big losses. Instead the Wild signed Dmitry Kulikov, Jon Merrill and Jordie Benn and haven’t missed a beat when it comes to depth and production at the position.

Now for the bad news, or at least a dose of reality.

There is no guarantee of a happy ending to this story. The Avalanche are the favorite of many to win the Stanley Cup and the way they have been playing will do nothing to change that. At some point, it’s almost certain the Wild will have to go through Colorado. For longtime NHL fans in Minnesota, it feels a bit like the 1983-84 season, when the North Stars won the Norris Division by 17 points but were bounced in the conference finals by the high-flying Edmonton Oilers.

Of course, that’s coming from a longtime follower of Minnesota sports and someone who is usually bracing for the Wild, Twins, Vikings or Timberwolves to suffer an unfortunate demise. These Wild don’t seem to think like that and, in this case, that’s one of the best things this team has going for it.

The post “Why Not Us?” appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Fenton’s splash move that day was signing veteran winger Mats Zuccarello to a five-year, $30 million contract that had a full-no move clause for the first three seasons. The decision raised eyebrows from many who felt Fenton had bid against himself to sign a player who was set to turn 32 before training camp opened. Fenton made another signing that day that drew far less attention and zero scrutiny by giving a two-year, $1.9 million contract to forward Ryan Hartman.

Today, both moves look very good, but it’s the Hartman signing that is the best story. The fact Zuccarello is on the Wild’s top line with star winger Kirill Kaprizov isn’t surprising. The fact Hartman is centering them could not have been forecast by anyone. But that’s exactly where Hartman has landed, going from first-round disappointment and potential journeyman to a player who, for now, has solved the Wild’s issue of not having a top-line center on whom they can rely.

The 27-year-old Hartman had two goals in the Wild’s 5-1 victory last Friday in Chicago to give him a career-high 32 points in only 36 games. He entered Monday night’s game against Montreal one off his career high of 19 goals and was second in the NHL in plus-minus at plus-31. That production is a big reason the Wild are in excellent shape in the Central Division standings and could be a tough out in the playoffs.

Not bad for a guy who went from being a first-round pick (30th overall) of his hometown Blackhawks in 2013 to a player who found himself bouncing from Nashville to Philadelphia to Dallas in trades before signing with the Wild.

Ryan Hartman and Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo watch Hartman’s eventual game-winning shot elude goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury in Minnesota’s 3-0 Stanley Cup First Round Game 6 win over the Golden Knights on May 26, 2021 at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Fenton didn’t pursue Hartman thinking he would be getting a top-line center, but instead felt he was signing a player who would provide grit on the wing, could kill penalties and might occasionally score a goal. Hartman established career highs in goals and points (31) during his rookie season in 76 games with Chicago in 2016-17. He had eight goals and 17 assists in 57 games the following season when he was dealt to Nashville.

“He just brings the grizzle that I like,” Fenton told The Athletic after signing Hartman. “I would like our team to play with a little more hardness and passion and excitement and I think he’ll not only do it himself, but he’ll bring people along with him.”

Hartman had nine goals and 11 assists in 69 games in his first season with the Wild, and added seven goals and 15 assists in 51 games in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season. He also scored two goals but was a minus-5 in the Wild’s seven-game loss to Vegas in the opening round of the playoffs.

Guerin liked what he saw from Hartman and signed him to a three-year, $5.1 million contract extension last April. Considered a team-friendly deal at the time, it now looks like a steal for the Wild.

Hartman’s style of play is exactly what Fenton, and then Guerin, wanted as they both realized the previous version of the Wild was far too soft and looked for excuses more than answers. Hartman’s willingness to mix it up was welcome from Day 1, but the fact that he is now playing like a guy who deserved to be taken in the first round is a huge bonus. Especially at the low cost he’s commanding for a team that is about to enter salary cap hell for the coming three seasons.

The Flyers, meanwhile, made a major mistake by sending Hartman to Dallas in June 2019 because they were concerned that the restricted free agent might get more than $2 million if his case had gone before an arbitrator.

Philadelphia’s blunder — made by former Wild GM Chuck Fletcher — was both the Wild’s and Hartman’s good fortune. As was the fact that Dallas didn’t extend Hartman a qualifying offer and allowed him to hit the market. Hartman’s ascension to the Wild’s top line is a testament to his hard work, the fact that 2020-first round pick Marco Rossi isn’t yet ready for the NHL and that Joel Eriksson Ek is more at home on a line with Marcus Foligno and Jordan Greenway than he is with Zuccarello and Kaprivoz.

Playing with those two allows the speedy Hartman a chance to use skills that he likely didn’t get an opportunity to show during his time in Chicago, Nashville or Philadelphia. He is thriving in the goal-scoring department because Kaprizov and Zuccarello are both tremendous playmakers, and Zuccarello would often rather pass than shoot.

That was on display Friday in Chicago as Kaprizov and Zuccarello got the assists on both of Hartman’s goals. “The first goal was a great pass by Kirill,” Hartman said. “The second one (Zuccarello) … I was behind him, and he’s got eyes in the back of his head, and he knew I was coming. He sells the shot. Some great passers obviously. (Zuccarello’s) been doing it forever and Kirill’s been doing it, I mean, his whole life, but at this level for not long. But it’s pretty evident how good his passing skills are.”

Hartman still has to have the ability to bury his chances and he’s been doing it consistently this season. The fact he’s doing it playing on a contract that carries a paltry $1.7 million salary-cap hit makes it even sweeter if you’re Guerin and means that Fenton did a few things right.

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