30 Teams in 30 Days: Minnesota Wild

The Illegal Curve has been doing 30 teams in 30 days and Richard broke down the Minnesota Wild. There is no way the Wild finish as high as third, I just don't see it with the personel the Wild lost. Realistically I am thinking the Wild finish somewhere in the 10th-11th place in the West. With the low finish the Wild GM and the coach being shown the door.

by Richard ~ September 18th, 2008 --- After a disappointing six-game loss to the Colorado Avalanche in last year’s playoffs, the defending Northwest Division champions are coming into the 2008/09 with a different look. Sure Jacques Lemaire is back for another season behind the bench, and the team will continue to play the same suffocating style but the players playing that style have changed. Will the Wild take another step forward after winning the division last season and make it to the next round of the playoffs? That is a good question, but the most important question on Wild fans’ minds may be whether Marian Gaborik will re-sign with the club or be traded during the season? Unfortunately for fans of the Wild, that question could linger for quite a while; so let’s take a peek at the Wild’s outlook for 2008/09.

Forwards:

The Wild’s biggest offensive loss over the off-season was the departure of Brian Rolston to the New Jersey Devils via free agency. Rolston played in all situations for the Wild and was a critical component to team success. In fact, there probably isn’t a player more suited for Jacques Lemaire’s system. In addition to Rolston, the Wild also lost Pavol Demitra to free agency. While Demitra struggled last season and was unhappy with the system and how he was asked to play, he still had the ability to put points on the board (54 points in 68 games) and the team will miss his production. Without Rolston, Demitra and the recently bought-out Mark Parrish, the Wild is going to have to replace 61 goals and 81 assists in its line up. Is that impossible? Definitely not, but it also is not easy.
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Prediction:

Ceiling: 3rd place in the Western Conference. The Wild can earn this slot by way of winning the Northwest Division and they are certainly capable of that. Unfortunately, they won’t be good enough to slot ahead of Detroit or either San Jose/Dallas.

Floor: 9th place in the Western Conference. This is unlikely but the West is still fairly deep and has non-playoff teams like Edmonton, Chicago and Columbus to go along with all the seven other playoff teams from last season.

The Wild should be an interesting team to follow next season.