Minnesota Wild: Greatest Seasons #16

Looking at the greatest seasons in the 16 year history of the Minnesota Wild.

Over the course of their existence, the Minnesota Wild have provided great entertainment as well as frustration to their fans. Here I attempt to rank in order the best seasons in the history of the team.

Since every list has to start somewhere and giving away surprises isn’t fun let’s start at the bottom. The 16th greatest season in Wild history is 2003-04. For those that don’t remember or do not know here is a quick summary of the season.

In 2002-03, the Wild went all the way to the  Western Conference Finals and there was an air of optimism surrounding the franchise. However the start of season saw the Wild short-handed as a a result of hold outs by two star players Pascal Dupuis and Marian Gaborik. After struggling in the first month the Wild finally got the two players signed but they struggled to into game shape.. Probably as a result of missing training camp.

After digging themselves into a deep hole the Wild could not climb back into playoff contention. On the bright side, the team did finish the season strong with five wins in their final six games. But it was not enough as they finished last in the Northwest Division with a record of 30-29-20-3, good for 83 points. During the year, the Wild began to plan for the future, trading away several older players who had been with the franchise since the beginning. Among these players were fan favorites Brad Bombardir, and Jim Dowd.

Conclusion

Although this year does not represent the lowest point total in team history, it is still the most disappointing season. Coming off a year in which the team experienced so much success the expectations were high. However the team fell flat on their face.

Just about everything went wrong for the team during the course of the year. It started with the hold outs of Dupuis and Gaborik. When two of your best players and team leaders are not there for training camp into the regular season it hurts the team. The Wild in those days struggled to score goals. The absence of two of their best meant the team stood little chance of reaching the playoffs. To top it off, the team traded away many players who had been instrumental in establishing the franchise in Minnesota.

All the reasons listed above make 2003-04 the worst season in Minnesota Wild history.