2010-11 NHL Season Preview: Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild are still trying to shake the label of being a defense-first team, and slowly they seem to be doing it. Last year the Wild failed to capitalize on their new mindset thanks to injuries and off years from several key team members. Still, there is a lot to be excited about in the twin cities heading into the 2010-11 NHL Season.

Real Image
The Minnesota Wild of 2009-10 were full of formerly great players, goons and players who normally perform better. The first step in the 2010 off-season was to find a shape for the team and start to build to it.

Several depth players were allowed to walk away, including Andrew Ebbett, Robbie Earl, Derek Boogaard and Petr Sykora. None of these players contributed much, though at least in the case of Sykora there was potential for more.

38-year-old Owen Nolan was also not brought back for another go around after posting just 16 goals and 33 points in the 2009-10 NHL Season. Nolan has definitely seen better days, but he still will have value to someone in the NHL if he does not choose to retire.

To fill these holes the Minnesota Wild found a much more talented cast then they had before. Matt Cullen, who is always reliable for 40 points in a season, was brought in to fill the role of second line center. Cullen might be only a temporary solution, as regular second line center Pierre-Marc Bouchard is expected to return at some point.

Defensive Minded Forwards
The Minnesota Wild also decided to bring a more defensive punch back to their forwards after only six players posted a plus rating last season. The defensive charge will be led by John Madden, fresh off of yet another Stanley Cup win with the Chicago Blackhawks last season. Madden is a face-off specialist, and an underrated part of any team.

Eric Nystrom will also join the Wild, most likely to play with John Madden and checker extraordinaire Cal Clutterbuck. That will make for a fearsome shut down trio if they click.

Same As Before
On defense the only change was the departure of Shane Hnidy, which is hardly a game changing move. The Minnesota Wild will instead rely on players returning to their healthy forms, particularly Brent Burns. Burns has missed 58 games in the past two seasons, so that could be wishful thinking on the part of Minnesota Wild management.

The Wild will also see their goaltending duo of Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding return. That is great news, as Backstrom is consistently one of the better goaltenders in the NHL, though he slipped up quite a bit last year in Minnesota's new offensive minded system.

Josh Harding might not be with the Minnesota Wild much longer, as he is in the final year of his contract and reports say that many teams have inquired about this young net minder. The Wild have Niklas Backstrom locked up for several more years, so trading Josh Harding will be a great move for them around trade deadline time, even if they find themselves in a playoff spot.

With that said, a playoff spot for the Minnesota Wild is still not very likely. The Western Conference is looking to be even more competitive than normal in the 2010-11 NHL Season, and teams trying to find their direction like the Wild will be the ones left on the outside looking in.

Predicted Standings
Northwest Division: 4^th
Western Conference: 11^th
NHL: 18^th

Depth Chart

Forwards
Andrew Brunette - Mikko Koivu - Martin Havlat
Antti Miettinen - Matt Cullen - Guillaume Latendresse
Eric Nystrom - John Madden - Cal Clutterbuck
Colton Gillies - James Sheppard - Chuck Kobasew
Kyle Brodziak - Pierre-Marc Bouchard (IR) - Brad Staubitz

Defense
Marek Zidlicky - Brent Burns
Nick Schultz - Cam Barker
Greg Zanon - Clayton Stoner
Justin Falk - Tyler Cuma

Goaltenders
Niklas Backstrom
Josh Harding

Sources

http://www.nhl.com
http://www.tsn.ca
http://www.espn.com
http://www.hockeydb.com
http://www.nhlnumbers.com