Minnesota Wild

Team information

• Inaugural season: 2000
• Home arena: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
• Owner: Craig Leipold
• Team colors: Iron range red, forest green, harvest gold, Minnesota wheat, and white

Overview

The Minnesota Wild is a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL). It was the second NHL franchise hosted by Minnesota, replacing the Minnesota North Stars, which had moved to Dallas, Texas, seven seasons before the Wild’s inaugural game. The franchise was initially funded by Robert Naegele and his firm Minnesota Sports and Entertainment. Naegele also funded the construction of the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, which provided a home arena for the team. The Wild settled on a logo depicting a snarling animal with a star for an eye—as a tribute to the North Stars—and a sunset over a forest.

The Wild’s performance was poor during their first seasons, but over time, the franchise improved. It repeatedly made the playoffs but never advanced beyond the second round. In 2008, Naegele sold the Wild to Craig Leipold, who had previously owned another NHL franchise.

Several notable hockey players have spent at least part of their career with the Wild. Goaltender and alternate captain Niklas Backstrom spent most of his career with the Minnesota Wild. Marian Gaborik also played with the Wild early in his career, leading the team in goals and playing in two All-Star games. Gaborik went on to win a Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Kings. While with the Wild, Mikko Koivu was named team captain and is the franchise leader in points scored.

History

The Minnesota Wild was the first National Hockey League (NHL) franchise to be based in the state since the departure of the beloved Minnesota North Stars. The North Stars relocated to Dallas after the 1993 season, leaving Minnesota without an NHL team. On June 25, 1997, the NHL announced that it would award Minnesota another franchise to begin play in the 2000–2001 season. Six finalist team names were announced in 1997, including Blue Ox, Freeze, Voyageurs, Northern Lights, White Bears, and Wild. After Wild was selected as the name, the team chose Jacques Lemaire as its first coach and quickly moved into its first draft. That year, the Wild picked up Marian Gaborik, a winger from Czechoslovakia, who scored the team’s very first goal during its debut game.

The Wild was originally an expansion franchise owned by Minnesota Sports and Entertainment’s Robert Naegele Jr. He was determined to bring hockey back to Minnesota and lobbied heavily for the introduction of a new franchise after the North Stars left the state. Minnesota Sports and Entertainment also invested $45 million in the construction of an arena for the team.

The Minnesota Wild’s logo was designed by Stephen O’Laughlin, a graphic artist who was employed by SME Branding. The logo included elements of the wilderness that had inspired the team’s name. It also honored the state of Minnesota, which is known for its outdoors activities. The logo, known as the “Wild Animal,” features the silhouette of a snarling animal drawn with sharp angles intended to simulate sudden motion. Inside the silhouette is a sun setting in a forest with a single star in the sky. The star forms the animal’s eye and is meant to pay tribute to the Minnesota North Stars. Many fans have speculated that the wild animal in the logo is a cougar or a bear, but the team has said that it is not meant to be any specific animal. The four colors used in the logo are harvest gold, Minnesota wheat, forest green, and iron range red. Most Minnesota Wild jerseys use a combination of these colors and white.

The Wild began playing in the 2000–2001 season, but struggled mightily, a pattern that would be repeated in its second season. The team finished fifth in the Northwest Division of the NHL’s Western Conference in both its first and second seasons, failing to qualify for the playoffs. However, in the 2002–2003 season, the Wild placed third in the division and earned the franchise’s first playoff berth. Gaborik led the 2002–2003 squad in overall scoring, goals, and assists. The Wild’s first trip to the playoffs almost resulted in a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. The team made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals before losing to the Anaheim Ducks. After its initial playoff success, the Wild had a setback during the 2003–2004 season, when it fell to fifth place.

Minnesota never got a chance to rebound in 2004–2005, as the season was cancelled due to labor difficulty between owners and players. When the Wild again returned to the ice for the 2005–2006 season, Gaborik led the team in goals, but the Wild still finished in last place in their division. However, in the 2006–2007 season, the team moved up to second place and advanced to the playoffs. American center Brian Rolston led the team in goals that season with 31. However, it was defeated in the conference quarterfinals by Anaheim.

Coach Lemaire resigned during the 2007–2008 season, and the team’s general manager, Chuck Fletcher, chose Todd Richards to take over as coach. Gaborik once again led the team in points and goals that season. The Wild won its first, and as of 2020, only division title that season and advanced into the Western Conference quarterfinals.

In 2008, Naegele sold Minnesota Sports and Entertainment, which included ownership of the Minnesota Wild, to Craig Leipold, who had owned the Nashville Predators franchise. Leipold sold the Predators a year before purchasing the Wild.

The Wild did not advance to the playoffs again until the lockout-shortened 2012–2013 season and then continued to make the playoffs each year from 2014–2015 to 2017–2018. However, the team was never able to push past the second round. The Wild finished last in its conference during the 2018–2019 season, and was sitting near the bottom of its division late in the 2019–2020 season.

The Wild plays in the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The center was officially opened when the team played the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in October 2000. The Wild sold out the large arena for 409 consecutive games during the franchise’s first nine seasons. The Wild continues to draw fans to its games in the 2020s, filling the arena to capacity most of the time.

Notable players

The Minnesota Wild have not retired any player numbers, and none of the young franchise’s former members have been named to the Hockey Hall of Fame. However, several players have distinguished themselves during their time with the Wild or after they left. Goaltender Niklas Backstrom, who hails from Finland, began his career in the Finnish Elite League, where he led his team to two championships. In 2006, Backstrom joined the NHL and signed with the Wild. He began his career with the Wild as a backup goaltender. When the Wild’s starter was injured, Backstrom was moved into the net for the second half of his first season. The young goaltender quickly impressed the rest of the team, leading the NHL in save percentage. Backstrom remained with the wild until 2016, when he was traded to the Calgary Flames. While he played for the Wild, Backstrom was awarded the Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award and the William M. Jennings Trophy, an award presented to the goaltender who has allowed the fewest goals in a season. Backstrom left the Wild as the franchise’s career leader in wins, saves, and shutouts.

Mikko Koivu is a Finnish hockey player who was drafted by the Wild in 2001. However, he did not play his first game with the team until 2006–2007. Koivu had 6 goals and 15 assists during his rookie season and was named team captain in 2009. Koivu went on to become the Wild’s all-time leader in points scored with 709. In hockey, a player gets a point for each goal scored and each assist.

Marian Gaborik began his career with Minnesota before signing with the new York Rangers in 2009. He was the top scorer in many of the team’s early seasons, and played with the Wild for eight seasons. He remains the Wild’s all-time leading goal scorer with 219. Gaborik has played in the NHL All-Star game twice; once in the 2002–2003 season and again in the 2007–2008 season. In 2014, Gaborik was traded to the Los Angeles Kings, where he helped the team win its second Stanley Cup.

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