The Minnesota Wild Offseason Review:

For the first time in the franchises 8 years of existence, the cornerstones of Marian Gaborik, GM Doug Risebrough and Coach Jacques Lemaire will not be there when the puck drops on October 3rd.  The Wild are promising a more up-tempo style under new head coach Todd Richards than the stifling defensive play that has been their hallmark for nine seasons under Lemaire.  With the addition of free agent forward  Martin Havlat, the Wild’s guns will now be able to show their mettle.  The 28-year-old Havlat is a dazzling offensive player, with good size, great speed and a creative offensive flair.  He’s also coming off the best season of his career, scoring 29 goals and 77 points with a plus-29 rating in 81 games for the Chicago Blackhawks.  Since 2003-2004, Havlat has been among the more productive players in the league, when healthy, putting up 0.95 points per game, good enough for 26th in the league among players that played at least 100 games in that span.  Marian Gaborik, the face of the organization for 8 seasons, only played 17 games but amassed 23 points as the Wild finished a mere 2 points out of the playoffs has now moved on to the New York Rangers.   Breaking out for the Wild last season was 4th-year forward Mikko Koivu, who led the Wild in total points (67), power play points (26), and shorthanded points (6).  He even came back quickly from a horrific knee injury when many thought he was out for the year. Only missing 6 games he came back to score 5 points in the last 3 games for the playoff push.  Koivu has progressively improved in every season and last year he emerged as one of the better two-way centers in the game.  However, to bring out the best in Koivu, the Wild ought to ensure that he has a true finisher on his wing, as he’s much more of playmaker.  A big piece of the offense, Havlat will be asked to do something he has never done in his career, play back-to-back full 82-game season.  The closest he came to this was 2001-02 playing in 72 games after a 73 game rookie campaign.  One of the most underrated 2008-2009 seasons in the entire league was turned in by Owen Nolan.  The 37 year-old missed 23 games with injuries and still managed to score 25 goals, a total he’d surpassed just twice in the previous nine seasons.  The league’s leading hitter as a rookie, Cal Clutterbuck made a name for himself with his agitating style, but also chipped in 11 goals. He showed some offensive ability in his final two years of junior, so if Clutterbuck could build on his rookie season, perhaps a 15-20 goal season could be in his future.  Pierre-Marc Bouchard’s game tailed off as he finished with fewer than 57 points for the first time since the lockout. Bouchard plays a soft game, but has vision, creativity and soft hands that should result in big point totals if he’s matched with better scorers.

As for the defense, former first round pick Brent Burns looks to forget a year that saw him injured and bouncing back and forth from forward to defenseman to build on his rising status.  Burns, a converted forward burst onto the scene as defenseman with 15 goals in 2007-8 and was named as the best defenseman at the 2008 World Championship.  Now, with Richards employing a system that allows the defense to join the rush and fully recover from concussion issues, Burns is primed to pick up where he left off and take his spot as a top defender in the NHL.  Power play quarterback Marek Zidlicky put up more than 40 points for the fourth time in his five NHL seasons, yet his minus-12 rating was the second-worst of his career. Perhaps he’d fare better in that regard with a steadier defensive partner, who could better cover when Zidlicky attacks in the offensive zone.  Though it doesn’t appear he’s ever going to be the kind of point producer he was in his years with the Philadelphia Flyers and he generally plays small for his size, Kim Johnsson is a solid top-four defenceman.  Coming off the first minus season of his career, Nick Schultz is nevertheless the closest thing the Wild have to a shutdown defenceman. His durability (at least 79 games for five straight seasons) and ability to log significant minutes has earned the 26-year-old respect as he enters his prime.  There are several holes that need to be filled on the blueline, but the Wild effectively have their top four covered so if they need any additional help during the season they can always pick up some help through a trade or someone from their farm club.

However, they will have to continue the solid defensive play that has been their trademark and continue to receive elite goaltending from Niklas Backstrom in order to return to the playoffs.  The undrafted free agent finished third in the Vezina voting and finished with a career high 37 wins and was top 5 in both GAA (2.33) and save percentage (.923). He also received a four-year contract extension to remain the last line of defense for the Wild.  When healthy, this team was a threat for both the playoffs and more but, when injured, they sputtered offensively and relied heavily on their spectacular goaltending.  Josh Harding will return to serve as the backup to Backstrom.  The 25-year-old went 3-9-1 with a 2.21 goals-against average and .929 save percentage in 19 games last season.  Originally a second round selection (38th overall) of Minnesota in the 2002 draft, Harding is 19-27-4 with a 2.49 GAA and .920 save percentage in 58 career games.  The Wild also signed veteran goaltender Wade Dubielewicz to add depth.  The 30-year-old has a career record of 17-15-1 with a 2.64 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage in 40 career appearances with the New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets.  The move gives the Wild a third goaltender on the roster and more stability should they decide to trade backup Harding.

Minnesota made some sweeping changes when it comes to the overall franchise.  I for one am excited to see what kind of hockey they are capable of as well as if all the changes will work out for them.  They seem to be so close to making a run for the most coveted sports trophy on the planet, The Stanley Cup.