After years of being known as a defensive team, this was supposed to be the year that Minnesota broke out and started turning heads with their offense. The franchise is definitely headed in a new direction, with both longtime coach Jacques Lemaire and Marian Gaborik moving on this year, but they’ll need to figure out just exactly what direction that is if they wish to be successful.
Offense: C- After leading the Chicago Blackhawks in points last year, Martin Havlat was supposed to be the star winger that helped Mikko Koivu lead this team. Havlat didn’t put up terrible numbers, finishing with 54 points on the year, but he’ll have to be better than that if he wants to live up to the big contract he signed. Koivu continued to improve, finishing the year with 71 points, setting new career highs with 22 goals and 49 assists. The Wild will need to add some youth up front, as veterans Andrew Brunette and Owen Nolan won’t be around much longer.
Defense: D
While Jacques Lemaire may not have been the most exciting coach in the world, you can’t argue with his success. The Wild clearly could have used some help on their blueline this year, as they allowed the 9th most goals in the league. The addition of Cam Barker at the trade deadline is a step in the right direction and gives them another young talent to build around, along with Brent Burns. Marek Zidlicky is one of the top powerplay d-men in the league, but the rest of their blueline is decidedly average.
Goaltending: C- Niklas Backstrom had a shaky season by his standards, suffering a number of injuries and was never really quite right all year. He is still a very talented goalie, and should bounce back next year. He didn’t get much help in his own end, or much goal support, and finished with just 26 wins in 60 appearances. Josh Harding showed glimpses of brilliance in the starts he made in Backstrom’s absence, but still has work to do before he can be considered a reliable number one.
Special Teams: C+ Where the Wild used to excel was their penalty killing. This year, as with the rest of their stats, their PK numbers were average at best. The Wild had the 14th best penalty kill in the league, and allowed 52 powerplay goals. They were a bit better on the powerplay, converting 19% and finishing with 58 powerplay goals of their own. As this team grows and develops, the special teams should be an area where they will look to improve.