For current news on this topic, see 2007-08 Minnesota Wild season

Minnesota Wild
Minnesota Wild
Conference	Western
Division	Northwest
Founded	1997
History	Minnesota Wild 2000-present
Home Arena	Xcel Energy Center
City	St. Paul, Minnesota
Colors'''	Forest Green, Iron Range Red, Minnesota Wheat, Harvest Gold, and White
Media	FSN North KSTC-TV WCCO (830 AM)
Owner(s)	Naegele Sports, LLC
General Manager	Doug Risebrough
Head Coach	Jacques Lemaire
Captain	Pavol Demitra (Rotating)
Minor League Affiliates	Houston Aeros (AHL) Texas Wildcatters (ECHL)
Stanley Cups	none
Conference Championships	none
Division Championships	none

The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Their symbol is a bear made to look like the wilderness. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team's inaugural season was in 2000.

Franchise history

1997 — The National Hockey League announced that Minnesota had been awarded an expansion franchise to begin play in the 2000-2001 season. The six finalist teamnames for the new NHL franchise were: Minnesota Blue Ox, Minnesota Freeze, Minnesota Northern Lights, Minnesota Voyageurs, Minnesota White Bears and Minnesota Wild. Jac Sperling was named Chief Executive Officer of the Minnesota Wild and Martha Larson was named Chief Financial Officer, the first female in that position in NHL history.

1998 — The new NHL team is officially named the Minnesota Wild. The unveiling occurred in front at Aldrich Arena. The Minnesota Wild announce its first major sponsorship agreement with the Minnesota Wild Mastercard card from First USA. It was the earliest that First USA has ever signed an agreement in advance of a team beginning play (31 months). The State of Minnesota agreed in legislation to fund $65 million of the $130 million project costs for Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. the Saint Paul Civic Center deconstruction began soon thereafter and the Xcel Energy Center design was announced. a Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Xcel Energy Center was hosted in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

1999 — The Minnesota Wild announce a 26-year partnership agreement with the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission (MASC). The Minnesota Wild-MASC partnership is the first partnership of its kind between a private professional sports team and a public amateur sports organization. Doug Risebrough was named executive vice president/general manager of Minnesota Wild and The Xcel Energy Center is completed and ready for use.

2000-01 — The Minnesota Wild First Season Officially starts, The Wild name Jacques Lemaire the first-ever head coach and the team picks Marian Gaborik third overall in Round 1 of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. The team wasn't very successful on the ice, but showed promise for future seasons. The most notable game of the year, however, was the first visit of the Dallas Stars, formerly the Minnesota North Stars. The Wild rode an emotional record crowd of over 18,000 to a six to zero shutout in Dallas' first regular season game in Minnesota since 1993.

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 finish in last place again with a record of 26-35-12-9. Along the way there were signs the Wild were improving as second-year speedster Gaborik had a solid season with 30 goals, no sophomore slump, and Andrew Brunette led the team in scoring with 69 points.

2002-03 — Gaborik spends much of the season vying for the league scoring crown, and the Wild, in their first ever playoff appearance, make it all the way to the Western Conference Finals before being swept 4-0 by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Previously, the Wild had beaten the favored and third-seeded Colorado Avalanche in the first round in seven games, coming back from a 3-1 series deficit and winning both Game 6 and 7 in overtime. Andrew Brunette scored the series clinching goal. In the Western Conference Semi-Finals, the Wild beat the fourth-seeded Vancouver Canucks, again in seven games, and again after being down 3-1 in the series. In the process, the Wild became the first team in playoff history to capture a seven-game series twice after facing elimination during Game 5.

2003-04 — When this season started the Wild were short-handed with both Pascal Dupuis and Gaborik holding out. After struggling in the first month the Wild finally got their two young star left-wingers 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 a part of the franchise from the beginning including Brad Bombardir and Jim Dowd.

2004-05 — Season cancelled due to lockout. Former Wild player Sergei Zholtok dies from a heart condition during a game played in Europe. Zholtok died in the arms of Minnesotan and former Wild player Darby Hendrickson.

2005-06 — Finished in last place in Northwest Division, eight points behind Vancouver; along the way Gaborik set a new franchise record for goals in a season (38) and Brian Rolston set a new highest point total by a Wild player in a season (79). The goaltender controversy between Manny Fernandez and Dwayne Roloson ended when Roloson was traded to Edmonton for a first round pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

2006-07 — 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 Slovakian Pavol Demitra. Niklas Backstrom has been the Starting goalie for the Wild since starter Manny Fernandez initially sprained his knee on Jan. 20. Fernandez played for the first time since the sprain on Tuesday, March 6th and was removed after allowing three goals in two periods in the Wild's 3-0 loss to San Jose. Josh Harding, was brought up from the Wild's minor-league affiliate, the Houston Aeros, when Fernandez was hurt, and remained on Minnesota's roster for the rest of the season as the backup goalie. All-Star winger Marian Gaborik returned from a groin injury in January of 2007 and made an immediate impact, bringing a new spark to a lacking offense.

The Wild made the playoffs in 2007 for the second time in team history but were eliminated by the Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks in the opening round. Coincidentally, the same Anaheim franchise eliminated the Wild in their first playoff year, in the conference finals, in 2003.

Season-by-season record

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Wild. For the full season-by-season history, see Minnesota Wild seasons

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Records as of October 17th, 2007.

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	PIM	Finish	Playoffs
2001-02	82	26	35	12	9	73	195	238	1209	5th, Northwest	Did not qualify
2002-03	82	42	29	10	1	95	198	178	1063	3rd, Northwest	Lost in Conference Finals, 0-4 (Anaheim Mighty Ducks)
2003-04	82	30	29	20	3	83	188	183	1035	5th, Northwest	Did not qualify
2004-05	''Season cancelled due to 2004-05 NHL Lockout
2005-061	82	38	36	—	8	84	231	215	1211	5th, Northwest	Did not qualify
2006-07	82	48	26	—	8	104	235	191	850	2nd, Northwest	Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 1-4 (Anaheim Ducks)
2007-08	06	5	0	—	1	11	14	8	111	1st, Northwest	In Progress

¹ As of the 2005-06 NHL season, all games will have a winner; the OTL column includes SOL (Shootout losses).

Notable players

Current roster

As of October 2, 2007. [1]

Goaltenders
#		align=left	Player	Catches	Acquired	Place of Birth
29		Josh Harding	R	2002	Regina, Saskatchewan
32		Niklas Backstrom	L	2006	Helsinki, Finland

Defensemen
#		align=left	Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
3		Keith Carney	L	2006	Providence, Rhode Island
5		Kim Johnsson	L	2006	Malmö, Sweden
6		Sean Hill	R	2007	Duluth, Minnesota
8		Brent Burns	R	2003	Ajax, Ontario
26		Kurtis Foster	L	2005	Carp, Ontario
33		Petteri Nummelin	L	2006	Turku, Finland
41		Martin Skoula	L	2006	Litomerice, Czechoslovakia
55		Nick Schultz	L	2000	Strasbourg, Saskatchewan

Forwards
#		align=left	Player	Position	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
9		Mikko Koivu	C	L	2001	Turku, Finland
10		Marian Gaborik	RW	L	2000	Trencin, Czechoslovakia
12		Brian Rolston – A	RW	L	2004	Flint, Michigan
15		James Sheppard	C	L	2006	Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia
18		Dominic Moore	C	L	2007	Thornhill, Ontario
19		Stephane Veilleux	LW	L	2001	Beauceville, Quebec
21		Mark Parrish	RW	R	2006	Bloomington, Minnesota
24		Derek Boogaard	LW	L	2001	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
25		Eric Belanger	C	L	2007	Sherbrooke, Quebec
37		Wes Walz – A	C	R	2000	Calgary, Alberta
38		Pavol Demitra – C	LW	L	2006	Dubnica, Czechoslovakia
83		Matt Foy	RW	R	2002	Oakville, Ontario
92		Branko Radivojevic	LW	R	2006	Piestany, Czechoslovakia
96		Pierre-Marc Bouchard	LW	L	2002	Sherbrooke, Quebec

Team captains

''Note: Since joining the NHL in 2000, the Wild have never named a permanent captain. Instead, the team captaincy is rotated on a monthly basis among several of its players each season, with some players serving multiple times.

Honored Members

Hall of Famers: The Wild Head Coach Jacques Lemaire was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame (in the players category) in 1984.

Retired Numbers: The Wild retired number 1 as a tribute to Wild Fans, on October 11, 2000. The number 99 was retired league-wide for Wayne Gretzky, on February 6, 2000.

First-round draft picks

• 2000: Marian Gaborik (3rd overall)
• 2001: Mikko Koivu (6th overall)
• 2002: Pierre-Marc Bouchard (8th overall)
• 2003: Brent Burns (20th overall)
• 2004: A.J. Thelen (12th overall)
• 2005: Benoit Pouliot (4th overall)
• 2006: James Sheppard (9th overall)
• 2007: Colton Gillies (16th overall)

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; * = current Wild player

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	P/G
Marian Gaborik*	RW	408	164	167	331	.81
Wes Walz*	C	427	81	97	178	.42
Andrew Brunette	LW	245	54	110	164	.67
Pierre-Marc Bouchard*	RW	273	48	110	158	.58
Brian Rolston*	LW	160	65	78	143	.89
Pascal Dupuis	LW	334	67	74	141	.42
Jim Dowd	C	283	32	89	121	.43
Antti Laaksonen	RW	323	55	63	118	.37
Sergei Zholtok	LW	210	42	68	110	.52
Filip Kuba	D	292	27	80	107	.37

NHL awards and trophies

Jack Adams Award

• Jacques Lemaire: 2002-03

Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award

• Niklas Backstrom: 2006-07
• Dwayne Roloson: 2003-04

William M. Jennings Trophy

• Manny Fernandez and Niklas Backstrom: 2006-07

Franchise individual records

• Most Goals in a season: Marian Gaborik, 38 (2005-06)
• Most Assists in a season: Andrew Brunette, 48 (2001-02)
• Most Points in a season: Brian Rolston, 79 (2005-06)
• Most Penalty Minutes in a season: Matt Johnson, 201 (2002-03)
• Most Points in a season, defenseman: Filip Kuba, 30 (2000-01)
• Most Points in a season, rookie: Marian Gaborik, 36 (2000-01)
• Most Wins in a season: Manny Fernandez, 30 (2005-06)
• Most Shutouts in a season: Dwayne Roloson, (2001-02 & 2003-04) & Niklas Backstrom, (2006-07), 5

Ownership

The Minnesota Wild is owned by Minnesota Sports & Entertainment, which is a limited partnership formed by majority owner Bob Naegele Jr. of Naegele Sports, LLC in 1997. The partnership also owns the Minnesota Swarm in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). Along with the Wild and the Swarm the group operates the Xcel Energy Center, the Saint Paul RiverCentre and Roy Wilkins Auditorium. The group has recently extended its business through a majority stake in Wildside Caterers. The partnership also owns and operates 317 on Rice Park, which was the former historic Minnesota Club.

See also

• Minnesota North Stars
• List of NHL players
• List of NHL seasons

References

• Stars Can't Go Home Again (AP)
• Minnesota Wild Stats and Records

External links

• Official NHL Website
• Minnesota Wild Official Website
• Wild Puck Banter

Minnesota Wild  •  • [ e]
Franchise • Players • Coaches • GMs • Seasons • Records • Draft picks Xcel Energy Center • Houston Aeros • Texas Wildcatters

•  • [ e] National Hockey League (2007-08)
Current teams
Eastern Conference	Atlantic New Jersey Devils New York Islanders New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers Pittsburgh Penguins Northeast Boston Bruins Buffalo Sabres Montreal Canadiens Ottawa Senators Toronto Maple Leafs Southeast Atlanta Thrashers Carolina Hurricanes Florida Panthers Tampa Bay Lightning Washington Capitals
Western Conference	Central Chicago Blackhawks Columbus Blue Jackets Detroit Red Wings Nashville Predators St. Louis Blues Northwest Calgary Flames Colorado Avalanche Edmonton Oilers Minnesota Wild Vancouver Canucks Pacific Anaheim Ducks Dallas Stars Los Angeles Kings Phoenix Coyotes San Jose Sharks
Trophies and awards	Stanley Cup (Playoffs, Finals, Champions) Prince of Wales Clarence S. Campbell Presidents' Trophy Adams Art Ross Calder Conn Smythe Crozier Hart Jennings King Clancy Lady Byng Masterton Messier Norris Patrick Pearson Plus/Minus Road Performer Rocket Richard Selke Vezina
Defunct and relocated teams	Atlanta Flames California/Oakland (Golden) Seals Cleveland Barons Colorado Rockies Hamilton Tigers Hartford Whalers Kansas City Scouts Minnesota North Stars Montreal Maroons Montreal Wanderers New York/Brooklyn Americans Ottawa Senators (original) Philadelphia Quakers Pittsburgh Pirates Quebec Bulldogs Quebec Nordiques St. Louis Eagles Winnipeg Jets
Other	Seasons (structure) NHA Original Six Draft Players (Association) All-Star Game All-Star Team Timeline 1967 Expansion Streaks Droughts Hall of Fame (members) Rivalries Arenas Rules Violence History

This box:  •  • [ edit] Sports teams based in Minnesota
Baseball	MLB: Minnesota Twins, AA: St. Paul Saints, NwL: Alexandria Beetles • Brainerd Blue Thunder • Duluth Huskies • Mankato MoonDogs • Rochester Honkers • St. Cloud River Bats
Basketball	NBA: Minnesota Timberwolves, WNBA: Minnesota Lynx, PBL: Minnesota Ripknees, ABA: Rochester Fire
Football	NFL: Minnesota Vikings, WPFL: Minnesota Vixen
Hockey	NHL: Minnesota Wild, NAHL: Alexandria Blizzard • Southern Minnesota Express, NWHL: Minnesota Whitecaps
Soccer	USL-1: Minnesota Thunder, WL: Minnesota Lightning, NPSL: St. Paul Twin Stars
Lacrosse	NLL: Minnesota Swarm
(NCAA Division I)	University of Minnesota, Minnesota State University, Mankato (Hockey), St. Cloud State University (Hockey), University of Minnesota Duluth (Hockey) Bemidji State University(Hockey)