Throughout the year, the Sip Advisor will alphabetically travel the National Hockey League (NHL), discovering the best and worst each team has to offer in a variety of subjects. We will also featuring a drink based off the franchise. Today, we enter ‘The State of Hockey’ to see what the Minnesota Wild have to offer:
Establishment Story: The Wild joined the NHL as an expansion team in 2000, although they had been founded on June 25, 1997. The franchise was promised to the city when the Minnesota Stars were relocated to Dallas in 1993. Before settling on the Wild nickname, other monikers considered were Blue Ox, Freeze, Northern Lights, Voyageurs, and White Bears. The Winnipeg Jets were almost moved to Minnesota in the mid-1990s, but no arena deal could be reached.
Stanley Cups: The Wild have never won the Stanley Cup, having furthest reached the Western Conference Final in 2003 and even that was a surprisingly successful run. Since that 2003 achievement, the Wild have only advanced to the second round of the playoffs twice (back-to-back in 2014 and 2015), while missing the post-season altogether seven times during that span.
Celebrity Fan: Richard Dean Anderson, best known as the star of the original MacGyver TV show, is a proud Minnesotan, who played hockey while growing up. When the Minnesota Stars were relocated to Dallas, a fandom void was left for Anderson that wasn’t filled until the Wild debuted. Anderson was also a regular for celebrity charity hockey games back in the day.
Super Fan: Alyssa Nelson, dubbed the Lady in Pink, first garnered attention during the 2014 playoffs for her passionate cheering of the Wild. When the team staved off elimination in Game 6 of their series versus the Colorado Avalanche, she became a lucky charm of sorts. Minnesota would end up completing the comeback and move on to the second round of post-season action.
Mascot: Nordy is an animal – some say he’s a puma, others a bear or fox – where the only thing certain about him is he’s wild. Nordy wears the jersey number 18,001, a reference to The Team of 18,000, the number of fans at a sold out Wild game. Nordy debuted in 2008 and is available to be booked for birthday parties and even wedding receptions, where he’ll show up for photos or time on the dance floor.
Tradition: The Wild had a very unique tradition from 2017-2020, dubbed This is Our Ice, where fans were invited to help the team form its ice sheet, using water from their local ponds, lakes and rinks. It would then be filtered and frozen for arena use during an event called Flood the Rink. The Wild also host Hockey Day Minnesota each year, with the 2023 rendition being the 17th annual running of the spectacular.
Appearances in Media: Becoming Wild, an Emmy award-winning TV and online series, has aired since 2011, giving viewers a behind the scenes look at the players of the Wild, including their personal lives and how they navigate each season. The club has also released a couple of DVDs, including Minnesota Wild: The State of Hockey (2004) and Minnesota Wild Hockey Club: Celebrating a Decade in the State of Hockey (2010).
Events/Scandals: In a November 2020 lawsuit, Wild GM Bill Guerin was named for his role in allegedly covering up a reported sexual assault that occurred while Guerin was GM of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The incident was said to have been perpetrated by head coach Clark Donatelli on the wife of assistant coach Jarrod Skalde. An investigation was launched by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, with a variety of punishments possible if it’s proved Guerin acted inappropriately.
Rivalry: The Wild’s biggest adversary is the collection of teams that make up the rest of the NHL’s Central Division, particularly the Colorado Avalanche, Chicago Blackhawks, Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues. They also had a brief rivalry with the Vancouver Canucks, when both teams were part of the Northwest Division from 2000 to 2013. Some fans may also harbour some resentment for the Dallas Stars, given the franchise’s move from Minnesota in 1993.
Tragedy: In September 2012, Wild goalie Josh Harding was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). He attempted to play through the disease and continue his career, being awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 2013 for his “perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey.” Unfortunately, Harding’s career came to an end during the 2014-15 season, as a member of the Wild’s American Hockey League team, as he could not overcome his MS.
Player Nicknames: When Kirill Kaprizov finally joined the Minnesota Wild in 2020, five years after being drafted by the team, he immediately became a fan favourite, scoring 27 goals and adding 24 assists in 55 games, winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year. He was dubbed Kirill the Thrill and signed a five-year, $45 million contract, ensuring he continues to wow Minnesota crowds for years to come.
Line: Dubbed the Big Line, the trio of Pavol Demitra, Brian Rolston and Marian Gaborik enjoyed great success playing together. More recently, the unit of Kirill Kaprizov, Ryan Hartman and Mats Zuccarello have rewritten portions of the Wild record books, while as their name suggests, the GREEF Line of Jordan Greenway, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno have made Minnesota frustrating to play against.
Captain: Mikko Koivu spent all but seven games of his NHL career with the Wild. Starting in February 2008, Koivu served as one of Minnesota’s rotating captains. He was named the Wild’s first permanent captain for the 2009-10 season, a role he held until 2020. After only seven games with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Koivu announced his retirement. Koivu’s number was the first retired in franchise history in 2022.
Enforcer: The Wild signed Derek Boogaard (nicknamed Boogeyman) during the 2002-03 season, placing him with their East Coast Hockey League (third tier) affiliate. From there, Boogaard worked his way up to the NHL, claiming numerous fighting victims along the way. Boogaard made the Wild out of their 2005 training camp, thanks to his intimidation factor. Boogaard finished his Wild tenure with 544 penalty minutes over 255 games.
Family Values: Uncle and nephew Jacques Lemaire and Manny Fernandez were members of the Wild together, as Lemaire served as the franchise’s first head coach from 2000 to 2009, while Fernandez minded the Minnesota net from its earliest days until a 2007 trade to the Boston Bruins. That must have made some starting goalie decisions awkward. Also, cousins Marc and Eric Chouinard played together during the 2003-04 campaign.
Returning Players: Andrew Brunette played two stints with the Wild and returned a third time as an advisor to the hockey operations department and later assistant coach of the team. Brunette was very durable for the Wild, playing at least 80 games in all six of his seasons with the franchise. His two tours of duty with Minnesota were split up by three seasons with the Colorado Avalanche.
Short Stint: Enigmatic goalie Ilya Bryzgalov played 12 games for the Wild in 2014, after coming to the team at the trade deadline. In those contests, Bryzgalov posted a 7-1-3 record and also saw playoff action with Minnesota, as the team was eliminated in the second round. Bryzgalov then became an unrestricted free agent and didn’t sign his next contract until December of that year, with the Anaheim Ducks.
Undrafted: Niklas Backstrom was signed by the Wild in June 2006 to be the team’s back-up goalie. It wasn’t long before he took over the starter role and by 2009, he was runner-up for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s best goaltender. Backstrom was traded to the Calgary Flames in 2016, before returning to Finland for the final three seasons of his career.
Trade: Some of the Wild’s best transactions have involved acquiring goaltenders, such as Manny Fernandez in 2000, Devan Dubnyk in 2015 and Filip Gustavsson in 2022. The worst trade in franchise history saw the Wild send Brent Burns to the San Jose Sharks at the 2011 NHL Draft. In California, Burns would flourish as a multiple time all-star and win the 2017 Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman.
Signing: When the Wild signed Eric Staal in 2016, few could have imagined he’d return to his early career form. Staal recorded 92 goals and 193 points over that three-year deal. As for the Wild’s worst signings, on July 4, 2012, Zach Parise and Ryan Suter agreed to identical 13-year, $98 million pacts. The massive splash landed Minnesota two of the most coveted free agents of that off-season, but the team was criticized for the length of the deals and for overpaying.
Draft Pick: The earliest the Wild have ever picked is third overall, when they snagged sniper Marian Gaborik in 2000. The following year, they selected future captain Mikko Koivu sixth overall. The Wild’s greatest diamond in the rough find was Kirill Kaprizov at 135th overall in 2015. Kaprizov finally debuted with the team in 2021, following five seasons in Russia, and immediately became a superstar.
Holdouts: Going into the 2003-04 season, the Wild were dealt a double whammy of having both Marian Gaborik and Pascal Dupuis unable to sign new contracts with the team. Dupuis rejoined the team first, followed a week later by Gaborik, who went through a few agents and returned to his native Slovakia, in an attempt to gain some leverage in negotiations. Gaborik signed for half of the $6.5 million he was originally requesting.
Buyouts: In the 2021 off-season, GM Bill Guerin decided to buyout the twin contracts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, with four years remaining on each deal. The buyouts will cause significant salary cap ramifications for the team up to the 2024-25 season and will remain on their books until 2027-28. Parise would end up signing with the New York Islanders, while Suter landed with the Dallas Stars.
Unique Game: As part of the 2010 NHL Premiere, the Wild opened their season with two games against the Carolina Hurricanes in Helsinki, Finland. They have also participated in two outdoor games, a 2016 Stadium Series match versus the Chicago Blackhawks and the 2022 Winter Classic against the St. Louis Blues. For the 2023 Global Series, Minnesota will join three other teams in Stockholm, Sweden for another pair of games.
Goal: The Wild have only reached the Western Conference Final once and the goal that pushed them there was scored by Andrew Brunette, in overtime, against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 7 of the 2003 Western Conference Quarterfinals. The goal had added significance, as it was the last tally ever scored on legendary goalie Patrick Roy, who announced his retirement a month later.
Fight/Brawl: Among Derek Boogaard’s many notable bouts was an October 2006 scrap with Todd Fedoruk of the Anaheim Ducks. The fight was short, as just moments in, Boogaard landed a punch that fractured Fedoruk’s cheekbone. Surgery, including metal plates and mesh, was required to repair the injury. Sadly, Boogaard died in 2011 due to an accidental overdose, while a member of the New York Rangers.
Injury: On March 20, 2008, Wild defenseman Kurtis Foster suffered a broken leg when he crashed into the boards while racing against San Jose Sharks forward Torrey Mitchell for an icing call. Foster missed almost a full year recovering from the injury. As a result of the incident, the NHL altered its icing rules, making dangerous contact during a race for the puck illegal. Players could only attempt to play the puck and not contact the opposing player.
Penalty: Matt Cooke’s long history of suspensions for dangerous hits followed him to Minnesota, where he was banned for seven games following a knee-on-knee hit on Colorado Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie during the 2014 playoffs. Barrie was injured on the play and missed the remainder of Colorado’s post-season run. Cooke would play one more season for the Wild before being bought out in 2015 and retiring.
Wildest Story: During the 2022 off-season, Kirill Kaprizov returned to his native Russia, despite GM Bill Guerin preferring he stay in Minnesota, amidst the Russia-Ukraine War. In July 2022, news broke that Kaprizov was wanted by Russian authorities for allegedly purchasing a fraudulent military ID card, in order to avoid the mandatory military service for all males aged 18 to 27. It took three attempts for Kaprizov to escape Russia and return to the U.S.
Blooper: Cal Clutterbuck, the NHL’s leader for career hits with 3,756, began his career with the Wild. Always looking for his next target, opposing players must be aware of his presence on the ice, as crafty Vancouver Canucks winger Alex Burrows was during a March 2011 game. Clutterbuck had Burrows lined up, but at the last moment, Burrows spun away, causing Clutterbuck to go flying into the Canucks bench.
Miscellaneous: The story of Wild original Matt Johnson is a tragic one. Johnson, a popular enforcer, nicknamed Moose by Wild fans, played the final four seasons of his 10-year career in Minnesota. He retired following the 2004-05 NHL lockout, as he did not want to be a fighter anymore. Johnson’s life after hockey was documented in the 2017 piece Searching for Matt Johnson, which revealed he had been missing for close to a decade and was later discovered homeless in Southern California.
Minnesota Wild: Wild Thing
- 1.5 oz Tequila
- Top with Cranberry Juice and Club Soda
- Splash of Lime Juice
- Garnish with a Lime Wheel
For a time, Xcel Energy Center, home arena for the Wild, also sold a drink called Wild for Jack, with ingredients including Jack Daniel’s Whiskey, Peach Schnapps, Lemon-Lime Soda, Raspberry Puree and Lemon Juice. I went with the Wild Thing recipe because it matched items I had on hand and wanted to put together.
Sip Advisor 