What the Minnesota Wild are Thankful for this Thanksgiving
By Lake Martin
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Today, we’ll count down the Five Things the Minnesota Wild are Thankful for.
Howdy everyone! Hope you are spending this day safely and with your loved ones. To provide a bit of hockey entertainment today, we’ll count down the Five things the Minnesota Wild are/should be Thankful for this year.
5. The Minnesota Wild Reverse Retro Jersey’s Don’t Suck
I mentioned this in an article a week or two ago, but I love the North Stars-Esque Jerseys the Minnesota Wild now have. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, whether it’s because the colorway is too much like a Subway sponsored jersey or you detest the North Stars colors because a terrible owner took the team elsewhere, but the jersey is objectively not terrible.
https://twitter.com/mnwild/status/1328352363728363521
Listen, the Islanders jersey is marginally different than what they currently have. The Detroit jersey is a practice jersey. The Stars jersey is laughable. Simply because the Minnesota Wild Reverse Retro jersey does not suck, I think the team should be thankful. It’s a fresh taste on a team that hasn’t really tried anything in their twenty-year history.
4. The Minnesota Wild Have Active Management WE Believe In
More from Gone Puck Wild
- Defenseman Matt Dumba signs one-year contract with Arizona
- Minnesota Wild reach agreement with Brandon Duhaime on one-year contract
- Minnesota Wild receive mixed grades for picks in NHL Entry Draft
- Minnesota Wild draft heavy on centers and home-state selections
- Minnesota Wild open regular season at home against Stanley Cup Finalist
From this past year’s transactions and decisions, it’s clear the Minnesota Wild fanbase is clearly thankful for the active management style Bill Guerin has taken. Bill Guerin has not been bashful in his first shot as a General Manager in the National Hockey League. He understands that there are fan favorites and players who are comfortable but is not afraid to make a painful move.
Now, this might not make him a popular person in the locker room from time to time, but fans and I have to believe Craig Leipold is at least refreshed by this. It seemed like in the short run with Paul Fenton, the direction was aimless and his treatment of staff and players has made him a villain in many eyes.
Today, it looks like Bill Guerin has taken to wanting to build a team and a franchise that will succeed and the fans will love. I don’t think he will ever share the inner machinations of his overall plan or have a named plan like the ShanaPlan, for the Toronto Maple Leafs President Brennan Shanahan, but I think he does share a vision with the fanbase and wants to build something communal here.
Fans appreciate and are thankful for that.
3. The Minnesota Wild are Thankful for Kevin Fiala Having a Fantastic Year
When we first acquired Kevin Fiala for Mikael Granlund, it was concerning that the Wild and Fenton got fleeced again in a trade. Fiala had a slow year after joining the Wild and it was concerning that we would have another boat anchor around our neck.
Instead, he followed up the disappointing half-season with a slow start, but exploded for a very good year and has the fan base excited for the future.
It has to be relieving for Management as well. They have a dynamic, exciting player that will have fans rushing to the stadium (when it’s safe again), purchasing jerseys, and vocal on social media about their new star. Don’t believe us? Our own Contributor Aaron Heckmann contributed to this:
https://twitter.com/aaron_heckmann/status/1290365345413435394
The excitement is further building around Kevin Fiala, and we hope that the season is replicable, further improves, and is undoubtedly something the Minnesota Wild and its fans are Thankful for.
2. The Minnesota Wild are Thankful for Marco Rossi
Let’s make something very clear. The Wild are incredibly fortunate to have drafted Marco Rossi. Based on their regular-season point percentage, the Wild should have picked 11th, not 9th. Because the Arizona Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks, and the Montreal Canadiens all won their Play-In rounds and qualified for the Playoffs they were removed from the draft lottery, and the Wild moved up by virtue.
The Wild theoretically should have chosen 8th overall, but the Rangers won the draft lottery and jumped Minnesota, pushing them back one spot.
Further, the Wild were pretty lucky to get Rossi at 9th overall. The fact that one of Perfetti and Rossi were available at 9 was pretty shocking, both being there was appalling. Buffalo probably needed to build on their Center Depth but instead drafted Winger Jack Quinn. He isn’t a bad player by any means, just not what they needed, especially now that they have Taylor Hall for a year.
I know I’m very excited for Marco Rossi to be a member of the Minnesota Wild, as is the vast majority of the fanbase.
1. The Minnesota Wild Should be Thankful for Matt Dumba
Matt Dumba is an incredibly talented player. A very good offensive defenseman who seems to continually improve and round out the edges on his game.
He’s also an incredibly compassionate and caring human being. He’s one of the nine founding members of the Hockey Diversity Alliance whose goal is to “eradicate systemic racism and intolerance in hockey”, and is committed to ” inspire a new and diverse generation of hockey players and fans”.
Dumba also helped raise funds to help repair and rebuild local businesses damaged during the riots and protests in the aftermath of the wrongful death of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department.
He’s contributed to over 60 families in need during the COVID-19 Pandemic, $11,000+ to the Australia Wildfire Relief, ACES (Athletes Committed to Educating Students), and a large participant in Hockey Fights Cancer Night.
Matt Dumba is a very kind and happy spirited individual, who would love to make the hockey world more accepting for anyone and everyone interested in the game. He’s someone who knows he has been gifted with a phenomenal skill set and would like to help make the world a better place while playing a game he competes at a world-talent level at and simply loves.
The world could use more people like Matt Dumba. Plain and Simple.
I’m thankful for him. I know many Minnesota Wild fans are too. I’m certain the organization is.
Have a good Thanksgiving y’all.