Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The
Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the
Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Energy Centre. The Wild were
founded on June 25, 1997, but did not start playing until the 2000–01 season. They were the first
NHL franchise in Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas, Texas, in 1993.
They won their first game 9–1 to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and recorded their second win
against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the next game.Following the departure of the Minnesota North
Stars after the 1992–93 season, the state of Minnesota was without an NHL team for seven
seasons. Saint Paul mayor (and future U.S. Senator) Norm Coleman began a campaign to
either recruit the relocation of an existing franchise to the city or the award of an expansion
franchise to a Minnesota-based ownership group. These efforts came close to success in the
mid-1990s, when Minnesota interests purchased the original Winnipeg Jets, intending to relocate
The franchise was moved to Minnesota; however, arena negotiations at the Target Centre fell through, and the Jets instead relocated to Phoenix, Arizona.

Following the failed attempt to relocate the Jets, the NHL announced its intention to expand
from 26 to 30 teams. Businessman and Minnetonka native Bob Naegele, Jr. became the lead
investor for an application to the NHL for an expansion franchise and, ultimately, the first
majority owner. On June 25, 1997, the National Hockey League (NHL) announced that
Minnesota had been awarded an expansion franchise to begin play in the 2000–01 season.
The six finalist team names for the new NHL franchise (Blue Ox, Freeze, Northern Lights,
Voyageurs, White Bears, and Wild) were announced on November 20, 1997. Jac Sperling was
named chief executive officer of the Minnesota team, Doug Risebrough was named general
manager, Tod Leiweke was named President, and Martha Fuller was named chief financial
officer. The team was officially named the Wild at an unveiling at the Aldrich Area on January 22,
1998, with the song “Born to Be Wild” by Steppenwolf playing over the arena’s speaker system.
The Minnesota Wild announced its first major sponsorship agreement with MasterCard from
First USA. It was the earliest that First USA had ever signed an agreement before a team began
play (31 months). The State of Minnesota adopted legislation in April 1998 to loan $65 million to
the City of Saint Paul to fund 50% of the estimated $130 million project costs for the Xcel
Energy Center in Saint Paul. The legislation also provided that only $48 million of the loan
needed to be repaid if the team met the requirements to have an agreement in place during the
lease term with the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission. The City of Saint Paul issued an
additional $65 million in bonds, with roughly 90% of the debt service on the bonds and the
repayment of the state loan coming from scheduled rent and payment instead of taxes from the
Minnesota Wild. Deconstruction of the Saint Paul Civic Centre began soon after. Designs were
announced for the Xcel Energy Centre, and a groundbreaking ceremony for the Xcel Energy
The Centre was hosted in Saint Paul. The Minnesota Wild announced 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 organisation. Doug Risebrough was named executive vice
president/general manager of the Minnesota Wild, and the Xcel Energy Centre was completed and
ready for use.

The Wild named Jacques Lemaire their first head coach, and the team picked Marian Gaborik
third overall in the first round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. Gaborik scored the first-ever goal for
the Wild in their franchise debut on October 6 at Anaheim. The Wild played their first-ever home
game on October 11 against the Philadelphia Flyers and skated to a 3–3 tie. Minnesota native
Darby Hendrickson scored the first-ever home goal for the Wild. The most notable game of the
year was the first visit of the Dallas Stars, who had formerly played in Minnesota as the
Minnesota North Stars. The Wild rode an emotional sellout crowd of over 18,000 to a 6–0
shutout in Dallas’ first regular-season game in Minnesota since a neutral-site game in 1993.The
Wild got off to a strong start in the 2001–02 season by earning at least one point in its first
seven games. However, the Wild finished in last place again with a record of 26–35–12–6. En
route, there were signs the Wild were improving, as second-year speedster Gaborik had a solid
sophomore season with 30 goals, including an invite to the NHL YoungStars Game, and Andrew
Brunette led the team in scoring with 69 points. Gaborik spent much of the 2002–03 season
vying for the league scoring crown before slumping in the second half, and the Wild, in their
first-ever playoff appearance, made it to the Western Conference Finals before being swept 4–0
by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Previously, the Wild had beaten the favoured 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. Brunette scored the series-clinching goal, the last
on Patrick Roy.[17] 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 a 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. When the 2003–04 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 did not make it to the playoffs, despite finishing the season strong, with wins in five of their
last six games, as they finished last in the competitive Northwest Division with a record of
30–29–20–3.In the 2005–06 season, the first season after the lockout, Minnesota finished in
fifth and last place in the Northwest Division, eight points behind fourth-placed Vancouver
Canucks. En route, Marian Gaborik set a new franchise record for goals in a season at 38, and
Brian Rolston set a new high point total by a Wild player in a season at 79. The goaltender
controversy between Manny Fernandez and Dwayne Roloson ended when Roloson was traded
to the Edmonton Oilers for a first-round pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. The Wild signed
veteran free agents Kim Johnsson, Mark Parrish, Branko Radivojevic and Keith Carney. On the
day of the NHL Entry Draft, it traded the 17th overall pick and prospect Patrick O’Sullivan to the
Los Angeles Kings acquired veteran Slovak Pavol Demitra. Niklas Backstrom was the starting goalie
For the Wild’s previous starter, Manny Fernandez, sprained his knee on January 20.
Fernandez played for the first time since the sprain on March 6 and was removed after allowing
three goals in two periods in the Wild’s 3–0 loss to the San Jose Sharks. Josh Harding was
brought up from the Wild’s AHL 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 2007 and made an immediate impact,
bringing a new spark to a lacking offence. The relocation and rebranding of the Atlanta
Thrashers as the “new” Winnipeg Jets in 2011 meant Winnipeg was once again Minnesota’s
second-closest geographical rival after Chicago, and led the NHL to reconsider its divisional
alignment. Even before the NHL’s return to Winnipeg, Wild management had lobbied repeatedly
for a move out of the Northwest Division, where they were the only Central Time Zone team.
Among the alignments considered was having the Jets replace the Avalanche in the Northwest,
but Wild management strongly objected to this alignment, as it would have left them as the only
The American team is in their division. Following protracted negotiations both amongst the owners and
with the National Hockey League Players’ Association, in 2013, the NHL collapsed its six
divisions into four and dissolved the Northwest Division. Consequently, the Wild moved into the
Central Division, along with the Jets and Avalanche, the Canadian teams from the Northwest
moved back to the Pacific Division. The Wild now share their division with not only the
Blackhawks, but also the Dallas Stars, the Wild’s predecessors in Minnesota, and the St. Louis
The Blues, another major rival of the North Stars during the Norris Division era. Thus, the 2013
The Blackhawks–Wild playoff series was seen as the rebirth of the old Chicago–Minnesota rivalry in
the NHL.