2014-2015 Review:
It was a tale of two seasons for the Wild last year as they started off horribly in the first part of the season but then rebounded nicely to make the playoffs for the third straight season after goaltender Devan Dubnyk was acquired. They ended up playing the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the playoffs and dispatched of them in six games before their season would end in the second round. They got swept by the Chicago Blackhawks and this marks the third straight year that they have lost to them in the playoffs.
Key Additions
Mike Reilly: Reilly was a college defenseman at the university of Minnesota and had spent previous time with the Columbus Blue Jackets as well. He became a free agent this summer and decided to sign in his hometown of Minnesota over the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins. Reilly is an excellent puck moving defenseman and has drawn a lot of comparisons to Nick Leddy who plays for the Islanders. This may very well could turn out to be a steal for the Wild.
Key Departures
Wild General manager Chuck Fletcher kept his entire team intact going into this season as no big players left the team this summer. It's a good strategy as this team is ready to take the next step.
Biggest Strength: Top-Six Scoring
The Wild have a very deadly top six and it showed last year. Zach Parise led the team with 33 goals last year and in points with 62 while Jason Zucker had 21 goals respectfully. There were other 20 goal scorers in the Wild top six such as Nino Niederreiter who had 24 goals and Thomas Vanek who had 21 goals. Other players in the top six that just missed the cut for a 20 goal season were Mikko Koivu and Jason Pominville. Expect them to be at that level again next season and for their top six to be even better.
Biggest Weakness: Backup Goaltending
Devan Dubnyk is entrenched in the starters role in Minnesota for the next several seasons but behind him are some very shaky goaltenders. If Dubnyk were to go down, the backup would be Darcy Kuemper who did not have a good season last year when he played. He had a .905 save percentage and 2.60 GAA which shouldn't cut it as a backup goaltender.
Bottom Line:
The Minnesota Wild will be a playoff team for the fourth consecutive year next year and I won't even come close to thinking twice about it. The biggest question that needs to be answered is when will the wild take the next step? Their time to win is now with Ryan Suter and Zach Parise in their prime years but they just have to figure out how to beat a team like Chicago in the playoffs before anyone can consider them a Stanley Cup contender.
Devan Dubnyk will also have to prove that he can sustain that high level of play last year that got him a Vezina trophy nomination. If he does, the Wild could finish very high in the Central division. It's going to be another exciting year for the Minnesota Wild.
Fantasy Slant
Most Overrated: Thomas Vanek
Thomas Vanek just hasn't been the same player since he left Buffalo. In Buffalo, he would score around 30 goals every season and even had a 40 goal season there one year but he hasn't really come close to a 30 goal season since he left Buffalo. He did have 21 goals last year but that was his first 20 goal season since his last year in Buffalo which was the 2012-2013 season. He also was terrible in the playoffs this past season for the Wild as he only put up four assists combined in all of their playoff games. That's just not going to cut it for him as he needs a big bounce back season.
Most Underrated: Nino Niederreiter
This was a tough decision since there's a couple other players who would fit this void but Niederreiter is severely underrated on the Wild. Last season, he had his first 20 goal season in the NHL for the Wild when he notched 24 goals. The best part about this player is that he's just about to enter his peak years in his career. It wouldn't shock me in the slightest if he got to the 30 goal plateau this year since he's playing with either Charlie Coyle or Mikael Granlund.
Most Surprising: Mikael Granlund
Granlund has had a very good start to his young NHL career as last year he put up eight goals and 31 assists to equal 39 points. The prior season he had 41 points but this kid is also only going to get better as he enters his peak years. Expect him to have an even better year for the Wild this year as he tries to get double digit goals for the first time in his NHL career.