Last Season: 45-26-11 101 pts (3rd in Central Division; Lost in Western Conference 1st Round)
Key Additions: D Greg Pateryn, D Matt Bartkowski, F Matt Read, F Eric Fehr, F JT Brown, F Matt Hendricks, G Andrew Hammond, and General Manager Paul Fenton
Key Departures: D Kyle Quincey, F Tyler Ennis, F Daniel Winnik, F Matt Cullen, and GM Chuck Fletcher
Top Questions Facing the Wild:
- Will Ryan Suter be healthy going into this season?
Late last season Suter broke his talus, an ankle bone that usually fractures from high trauma events, and his status going into this season is very much up in the air at this time. If Suter cannot go right away then the Minnesota Wild will need to rely on their defensive depth to step up in his absence. Jared Spurgeon is a very underrated defenseman and can be a very solid replacement for Suter, plus Matt Dumba has made great strives defensively for the Wild. Plus the additions of Greg Pateryn and Matt Bartkowski bring some needed depth to the Wild’s defensive corps.
2. Is Bruce Boudreau on the hot seat this season?
During the offseason Wild owner Craig Leipold made it clear that this franchise doesn’t need a rebuild, but that of a tweaking when firing Chuck Fletcher as General Manager and naming Paul Fenton the new GM. Bruce Boudreau survived, but for how long. After leading the Wild to back to back 100 point seasons they failed to go deep in the playoffs which has been the norm for Boudreau. If the Wild falter out of the gates or have yet another abysmal postseason, we may see Boudreau looking for a new job in the League.
