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Minnesota Wild: Original team owner, Robert O. Naegele Jr. dies at 78

By Luke Ryan

BUFFALO, NY - JUNE 25: Robert O. Naegele Jr. owner of the Minnesota Wild holds a newspaper that shows hockey will be back in Minnesota in the year 2000 as Craig L. Leipold, owner of the Nashville Predators, Harvey Schiller, owner of the Atlanta Thrashers and John P. McConnell, owner of the Columbus Blue Jackets look on during the NHL Expansion on June 25, 1997 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by B Bennett/Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - JUNE 25: Robert O. Naegele Jr. owner of the Minnesota Wild holds a newspaper that shows hockey will be back in Minnesota in the year 2000 as Craig L. Leipold, owner of the Nashville Predators, Harvey Schiller, owner of the Atlanta Thrashers and John P. McConnell, owner of the Columbus Blue Jackets look on during the NHL Expansion on June 25, 1997 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by B Bennett/Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images) /
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The man responsible for bringing NHL hockey back to Minnesota, Robert O. Naegele Jr. has died at 78 due to cancer complications. His passing is to be honoured by the Minnesota Wild.

As a team, the Minnesota Wild itself wouldn’t exits had it not been for his persistent vision to have NHL hockey returned to the Twin Cities. Robert O. Naegele Jr. served as chairman of Minnesota Sports & Entertainment (MSE) and was the majority owner of the Minnesota Wild until the NHL Board of Governors approved current owner Craig Leipold’s purchase of the team on April 10, 2008.

The current iteration of the team will seek to honour the memory of the influential owner, both with a minute’s silence and with a jersey patch. The jersey patch has become somewhat of a standard among the league when they lose figures that are held in such high regard.

"The team plans to honor Naegele with a moment of silence before its next home game on Nov. 13 against the Washington Capitals. The Wild also will wear a patch with the initials BN on their jerseys for the remainder of this season, starting with Thursday’s game against the Kings in Los Angeles. (1500 ESPN)"

Current Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold said of Robert, affectionately known as Bob:

"‘From the first time that I met Bob, when we were both introduced as new NHL owners that summer of ’97, I was impressed by his passion for the game and his love of his home state. A piece of his heart and soul will remain forever as a part of the Wild. We will honor that. My family and I are so fortunate to have the chance to build on the great foundation he established here.’ – Craig Leipold (nhl.com)"

It wasn’t just the Minnesota Wild community mourning the loss of Robert O. Naegele Jr., with commissioner Gary Bettman sharing his sentiments through the NHL PR Twitter account:

The Minnesota Wild pulled out one particular quote that resonates with all those that mourned the loss of the Minnesota North Stars franchise:

Robert O. Naegele Jr. not only had the vision to see that the Twin Cities region needed to be represented in the NHL, but he had the means to make it happen and that in itself is a great legacy to leave behind.

He no doubt would be proud of the team’s current standing, but I’m sure he’d love to see the Minnesota Wild take that next step and bring the Cup back to St. Paul; that would be the most fitting tribute!

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As a born and bred Minnesota boy, Bob understood exactly what hockey at the highest level meant to the community and it is testament to his efforts that we today have the Minnesota Wild franchise to root for!

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