Tag Archives: Marian Gaborik

Minnesota Wild – Wild Thing

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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.

State of Hockey

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).

Nordy

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.

Kaprizov

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.

Mikko Koivu

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.

Bryzgalov

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.

Parise and Suter

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.

Boogaard

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

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.

Columbus Blue Jackets – Blue Jacket

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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 feature a drink based off the franchise. Today, we march into Ohio to find out what the Columbus Blue Jackets are all about:

Establishment Story: The Blue Jackets joined the NHL as an expansion team in 2000. Previously, the only NHL team to play in Ohio was the Cleveland Barons, which operated from 1976 to 1978. The team’s name comes from Columbus’ involvement in the American Civil War. The other name considered for the franchise, through a name the team contest held by Wendy’s restaurants in the area, was Justice.

Stanley Cups: The Blue Jackets have only won one playoff series ever, but it was notable. In the first round of the 2019 post-season, the Blue Jackets achieved the unthinkable, not only defeating the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning, but sweeping the series. It’s the only time in NHL history a President’s Trophy winner has been swept in the opening round and is known in team folklore as ‘The Sweep’.

Celebrity Fan: TV personality Erin Andrews, best known for her work as a National Football League sideline reporter, has been spotted at some Columbus games, rocking a Blue Jackets jersey. Andrews has even designed a line of Blue Jackets clothing for women, called WEAR. The line includes hoodies, pajama sets and button-up shirts. Andrews is married to former NHL player Jarret Stoll.

The Sweep

Super Fan: Described as the Blue Jackets biggest fan, Dancing Kevin (aka Kevin Schroeder) was known for his shirtless dance moves, with various slogans of support painted across his stomach and back. He would also, at times, pour beers all over his face to ignite the Columbus crowd. In 2016, Schroeder managed to lose 160 pounds over nine months, which the team he supports to this day celebrated.

Mascot: Stinger is a yellowjacket bug, so when mixed with Columbus blue, he has turned bright green with menacing red eyes. Stinger wears jersey number 00, representing the year 2000, when the Blue Jackets joined the NHL. Naturally, Stinger’s dislikes include bug zappers, raid and fly swatters. Columbus also had a secondary mascot, a cannon named Boomer, but that only lasted for half of the 2010-11 season.

Tradition: The Blue Jackets in-game experience is best known for the replica cannon inside Nationwide Arena, which was added for the 2007-08 season. The cannon is fired after each Columbus goal and also when the team takes the ice before the game and if they win the contest. To go along with the cannon blast, AC/DC’s For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) is played.

Appearances in Media: The only thing I can find for this category is a 2017 Finnish TV show called Amanda ja pelimiehet (Amanda and Gamers, according to Google translate), which saw host Amanda Harkimo interview various hockey players. The Columbus episode featured Finnish players Joonas Korpisalo, Markus Hannikainen and Markus Nutivaara, along with general manager Jarmo Kekalainen.

Stinger

Events/Scandals: On March 16, 2002, a deflected puck struck 13-year-old Brittanie Cecil in the head, as she attended a Blue Jackets home game. Although Cecil attended a first aid station under her own strength, she died 48 hours later, as doctors failed to discover a torn vertebral artery. Tragically, the tickets to the game were an early 14th birthday present. Following Cecil’s death, the NHL placed netting at each end of all arenas.

Rivalry: The Blue Jackets two chief rivals are the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins, thanks to their geographical closeness to the Ohio capital city. Columbus’ hatred of all things Pittsburgh was intensified in the NHL, when the two teams were placed in the Metropolitan Division during the 2013-14 league realignment. The Blue Jackets and Penguins have met twice in the playoffs, with Pittsburgh winning both series.

Tragedy: In 2021, at a Fourth of July party hosted by Blue Jackets goalie coach Manny Legace, a firework mishap killed Columbus goalie Matiss Kivlenieks. It was later revealed by fellow Blue Jackets goaltender and Latvian Elvis Merzļikins that Kivlenieks’ death occurred as he was protecting others at the party, including Merzlikins pregnant wife. Kivlenieks had been in the Columbus system since being signed in 2017.

Player Nicknames: Current Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner was given the nickname Bam Bam in his rookie season by team trainer Mike Vogt, thanks to his tenacity while forechecking. The moniker is a reference to the young Flintstones character, who has surprising strength. Jenner has spent his entire career with the Blue Jackets, since being drafted 37th overall in 2011.

Columbus vs. Pittsburgh

Line: One popular unit in Blue Jackets history was the PB&J Line of Pierre-Luc Dubois, Artemi ‘Bread Man’ Panarin and Josh Anderson. The trio was formed during the 2017-18 season and were dominant while together. Another top line for Columbus was the threesome of Rick Nash, Derick Brassard and Jakub Voracek, who were combined during the 2010-11 campaign.

Captain: After Rick Nash was traded away in July 2012, the Blue Jackets spent a number of years without a captain, finally putting Nick Foligno in the role in May 2015. Foligno had once been offered to Columbus, in a hopeful deal for Nash, but the transaction crumbled when Nash declined to waive his no-move clause to go to the Ottawa Senators. Foligno served as captain for six seasons, until he too was dealt from the team in April 2021.

Enforcer: Jody Shelley played parts of seven seasons with the Blue Jackets and holds the team’s single-season penalty minute record with 249 in the 2002-03 campaign. Shelley earned the nickname ‘Hawk’, as teammates felt he oversaw all the action and looked after them when needed. After retiring from hockey in 2013, Shelley became a Blue Jackets team ambassador, before joining the Blue Jackets TV broadcast team in 2014.

Family Values: Brothers Kris and Ryan Russell were both members of the Blue Jackets organization in 2011, but Kris was traded to the St. Louis Blues, before Ryan made his NHL debut with the club. Another family connection for the franchise is father and son Mike and Cole Sillinger both playing for Columbus. Mike suited up for two seasons with the Blue Jackets, while Cole was drafted by the club 12th overall in 2021.

Blue Jackets

Returning Players: Jakub Voracek was drafted by the Blue Jackets 7th overall in 2007. In June 2011, Voracek was dealt to the Philadelphia Flyers, where he would spend the next 10 seasons. In July 2021, Voracek was traded back to Columbus. Sadly, Voracek’s second stint with the Blue Jackets saw the end of his career at only 33 years old, due to post-concussion issues from an injury suffered in November 2022.

Short Stint: On a couple occasions, the Blue Jackets tried to bring in a star player to the organization, with the experiment not lasting long and that player ending up with the Los Angeles Kings. First, in 2011, Jeff Carter was traded to Columbus, but lasted only 39 games before he was on the move again. In 2013, Marian Gaborik was acquired, playing 34 games over two seasons. Both players would win Stanley Cups with the Kings.

Undrafted: The Blue Jackets most prolific undrafted signees have achieved their success in other locales, with Nick Holden and Jonathan Marchessault each only playing a few games with Columbus. The future may be bright with two 2022 signings in goalie Jet Greaves and defenseman Nick Blankenburg. Greaves had a strong NHL debut in April 2023, while Blankenburg has 17 points in his first 43 NHL contests.

Trade: The Blue Jackets greatest success came with their only playoff series victory in 2018. Two players who led the charge for that club were Sergei Bobrovsky and Nick Foligno, both acquired in trades in the 2012 off-season. Bobrovsky was dealt by the Philadelphia Flyers for three draft picks, while Foligno came over from the Ottawa Senators, in exchange for defenseman Marc Methot.

Voracek

Signing: In a surprise move, Johnny Gaudreau chose to sign with the Blue Jackets during the 2022 free agency period, rather than remain with the Calgary Flames or move closer to his home of New Jersey, as had been speculated by media reports. Gaudreau’s seven-year, $68.25 million pact with Columbus was less than Calgary offered and comparable to offers from Eastern Conference squads.

Draft Pick: Despite many years of futility, the Blue Jackets have only selected first overall once, taking Rick Nash in 2002. The team has more draft blunders than successes, especially with top 10 picks. These include Nikolai Zherdev (4th overall in 2003), Alexandre Picard (8th overall in 2004), Gilbert Brule (6th overall in 2005), Nikita Filatov (6th overall in 2008), and Ryan Murray (2nd overall in 2012).

Holdouts: Two budding stars for the Blue Jackets went through contract disputes with the organization, following breakout seasons in contract years. Nikolay Zherdev and Ryan Johansen both endured drawn out negotiations, with each player finally putting pen to paper and joining the team as training camp, in 2006 and 2014 respectively, were already in progress.

Buyouts: In the 2016 off-season, the Blue Jackets bought out the contracts of defenseman Fedor Tyutin and enforcer Jared Boll. The releases cost Columbus a total of $6.96 million, with $5.83 million going to Tyutin and $1.13 million going to Boll. Both players were long-time members of the franchise. Today, Tyutin and Boll rank sixth and eighth, respectively, in all-time games played for the Blue Jackets.

Gaudreau

Unique Game: The Blue Jackets have twice travelled to Europe for games. First, they played the 2010 NHL Premiere versus the San Jose Sharks in Stockholm, Sweden, while also facing off against the Malmo Redhawks in exhibition action in Malmo, Sweden. Next, they journeyed to Tampere, Finland for a pair of contests, dubbed the 2022 NHL Global Series, versus the Colorado Avalanche.

Goal: Rick Nash scored numerous goals for the Blue Jackets, but one tally is remembered more than all the rest. During a January 17, 2008 game against the Arizona Coyotes, Nash received the puck at center ice and came in on two Arizona defenseman, deking both out and then also the goalie. The marker was voted the second greatest goal of the 21st century in a 2020 Sportsnet tournament series.

Fight/Brawl: Bob Probert was one of the most feared fighters in NHL history, but that didn’t stop Jody Shelley from taking on the legendary pugilist three times in one 2002 game, with one bout occurring in each period. In a later interview, Shelley called the game “the longest night of my life.” When the two teams clashed again a couple nights later, it was time for round four between the two enforcers.

Injury: During a November 18, 2016 game against the New York Rangers, Matt Calvert was hit in the face with a slapshot, causing blood to stream onto the ice. The gritty forward received 36 stitches to close the wound, but returned to the contest and would score the eventual game-winning goal, while shorthanded. The incident earned Calvert the nickname Stitches.

Calvert

Penalty: In the 2011 pre-season, James Wisniewski was suspended for a hit to the head of Minnesota Wild player Cal Clutterbuck. The incident cost Wisniewski the remaining pre-season games and eight regular season contests. Wisniewski had been suspended four previous times. It should also be noted, both Jared Boll (four games in 2016) and Nick Foligno (three games in 2019) were suspended for hits to the head of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.

Wildest Story: In a business where teams are hesitant to let assets walk away for nothing, Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen made some against-the-grain decisions at the 2019 trade deadline, when he not only held onto his top goalie and player, when both were on the cusp of unrestricted free agency and likely to leave the team, he added rental players. This led to the surprise sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning, but ended with Sergei Bobrovsky, Artemi Panarin and Matt Duchene all fleeing for greener pastures.

Blooper: Line changes in hockey can be chaotic, sometimes resulting in a too many men on the ice penalty. The Blue Jackets went another direction during a 2019 game against the Boston Bruins, when they only sent out four players for a faceoff in their zone, when they should have put out a full line. The result: Boston scored two seconds after the puck was dropped. Luckily for Columbus, they still won the contest 7-4.

Miscellaneous: The Blue Jackets have always done things differently and that was perhaps most evident with the club hiring Jarmo Kekalainen in 2013 as the first European GM in NHL history. Kekalainen had previously served in executive roles with the Ottawa Senators and St. Louis Blues. He was leading Finnish Elite League club Jokerit, when hired for the Columbus gig. A decade later, Kekalainen is still at the helm of the Blue Jackets.

Columbus Blue Jackets: Blue Jacket

Blue Jacket

  • 1 oz Gin
  • 1 oz Blue Curacao
  • Dashes of Orange Bitters

The first martini recipe for the project. I don’t think this cocktail has any connection to the hockey team, other than sharing a name, but it’s the best I could find amongst the vast internet world.