The Minnesota Wild put themselves on the NHL’s radar on a national level last season, making a big trade for Quinn Hughes and advancing out of the first round for the first time since 2015. But the NHL’s announcement of their First and Second and All-Star teams suggest there’s still work to be done before they stop considering “The State of Hockey” as “flyover country.”
The league announced the two, six-player teams with a left and right wing, center, two defensemen and a goalie on Friday but no Wild player made the cut. For a team that had significant star power in Matt Boldy, Quinn Hughes and Kirill Kaprizov, the lack of one representative on the team is a little shocking, but reinforces the push to make improvements heading into next season.
NHL’s All-Star teams show Wild don’t quite have the league’s attention
If you asked the Wild stars what they thought, they probably would go on with their lives. But, it’s downright baffling for fans.
The Wild were on the national radar from the moment Hughes arrived in December and Minnesota continued to be in the spotlight as they played in the Central Division, which had three of the top teams in hockey along with the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche. The Wild even beat the Stars in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which gave them their biggest national audience in a long time.
With that in mind, the Wild certainly had a case for one or more of its players to make an All-Star team this season. But that didn’t happen.
Kirill Kaprizov scored 45 goals and a team-high 89 points during the regular season, but he was snubbed on both teams with Jason Robertson of the Dallas Stars and Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens named to the first and second teams.
Matt Boldy also had a career year with 42 goals, but that wasn’t good enough to make either squad with Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning and David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins being named to the two teams.
Then there’s Hughes, who transformed the Wild into a Cup contender, but that wasn’t good enough to make either team with Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche making the first team and Rasmus Dalin of the Buffalo Sabres and Evan Bouchard of the Edmonton Oilers making the second team.
Some of this isn’t surprising considering Hughes finished seventh in voting for the Norris Trophy earlier this month. But it also shows that most national people still aren’t thinking of the Wild as a big draw within the NHL.
One way the Wild can change that opinion is by making a blockbuster trade this summer. A trade for Dylan Larkin would be a good place to start but Minnesota could be front-and-center in the trade market if they decide to part with some of their core pieces for bigger names.
The Wild could also kick down the door with an even bigger 2026-27 season as they’ll be expected to take another step forward in their pursuit of a championship.
Maybe the only way for the Wild to announce their presence is to advance to their first conference championship since 2003 or even advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in history. But while the Wild may be approaching their golden age, the NHL’s All-Star teams show they’re not quite there yet, which could provide motivation for next season and beyond.
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