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Minnesota Wild: What To Do In Case of Another Disappointing Season

By Turner Olson |
Apr 20, 2016; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon (46) waits for the faceoff in the first period against the Dallas Stars in game four of the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 20, 2016; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon (46) waits for the faceoff in the first period against the Dallas Stars in game four of the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

After a disappointing season, 2016-17 has become a make or break season for the Minnesota Wild. While the team and its fan base is optimistic it will be a good season, what if they have another disappointing season?

There is optimism among the Minnesota Wild and their fan base that 2016-17 will be the year when the team finally has a deep playoff run. The reasons for this belief are based on faith in new Head Coach Bruce Boudreau and high profile acquisition Eric Staal. That coupled with the fact that the team kept all of its blue line assets has the team excited for the upcoming season.

But the fact remains that in professional sports, a team that regressed the season before and does very little to overhaul the roster usually leads to more regression. And there unfortunately is a chance that this could be the case with the Wild. Since the team should always be planning for the worst case scenario, lets follow this path and see what path the team should take should the worst happen.

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Oct 15, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Minnesota Wild left wing Zach Parise (11) celebrates with right wing Jason Pominville (29), defenseman Ryan Suter (20) and center Mikko Koivu (9) after scoring a power play goal in thefirst period against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 15, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Minnesota Wild left wing Zach Parise (11) celebrates with right wing Jason Pominville (29), defenseman Ryan Suter (20) and center Mikko Koivu (9) after scoring a power play goal in thefirst period against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports /

First thing first, the Wild does possess a young core that it can build around, even if they are forced to move on from most of their veterans after this year. Zach Parise and Ryan Suter also are not going anywhere, as they are locked in for the foreseeable future. The players the team would most likely part with are Pominville, Koivu, Staal, and one of their defensemen (most likely Scandella or Brodin).

That would leave a core built around Parise, Coyle, and Niederreiter upfront and on the back end Suter, Spurgeon,and Dumba. While this is the core the team hopes it can build around going forward, it is also clear that they are not ready to carry the load quite yet.

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Coyle has been very inconsistent, leading the team in goals for most of last season, but also going 17 games without scoring a goal later in the year. And Niederreiter, despite play that most would say warrants top 6 minutes has been stuck on the third line so one has to wonder whether that was a product of coaching or whether he is incapable of producing in an expanded role where he would draw tougher defensive assignments.

Another benefit, should this scenario come to pass and the Wild trade away most of its veteran assets, is they can see what they have in their prospects. Players like Alex Tuch, Joel Eriksson Ek and Mike Reilly would be given a chance to show what they can do.

Next: Minnesota Wild: Central Division Preview; Winnipeg Jets

All in all, given the young talent already on the team and the talent waiting down in Iowa, the Wild are not as bad off in this scenario as it may seem. In fact, given the current group’s inability to get past the second round of the playoffs, even if they make the playoffs should the team fail to have a deep run the Wild may want to consider a youth movement as soon as next season.

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