Minnesota Wild

Mikko Koivu has to be happy right now.  Koivu, for the first time in his career, is being flanked by an elite pair of wings in former Sharks Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi.  Regardless of how good Koivu feels, the trio has certainly looked the part of a dominant scoring line capable of taking over games in the first week of the season.  

The lines' regular season debut was a smashing success as both Heatley and Setoguchi found twine in a Wild victory.  

In a Northwest Division that is seeing many changes and makeovers, one team has made a particularly large splash this offseason.  In a pair of blockbuster trades that saw the departure of Martin Havlat and Brent Burns, the team acquired Sharks Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi.

As is the case every year, some teams will be left on the outside of the playoff picture. Also, not every team can win the Stanley Cup. With those teams are some players who have been around for a while and have yet to win the championshio. These veterans play their heart out and yet can't seem to win the big one.

Let's take a look at 10 veterans who will most likely need a trade this offseason in order to win that elusive cup.

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Every year, the Wild go all out to celebrate their fans at the end of the season. The very popular "Jerseys off Our Backs" event is probably the most well-known. This year is no different, and being Year Ten, there will be even more to it than usual. They should probably throw in some refunds; but hey, you take what you can get, right?

Another disappointing season will soon draw to a close for the Minnesota Wild, and a frustrated fan base is looking forward to what should be a major summer shake up for the team.  It was made painstakingly clear this season that the team lacks a game-changing, top-six forward who can find the back of the net.  With prospects like Jason Zucker and Mikael Granlund at least a year or two away, General Manager Chuck Fletcher is forced to look outside of the organization for options.

The Minnesota Wild have been a fun team to watch these past ten years. They don't score a ton of goals; they don't have any big-name flashy players.

They just get the job done. 

The Wild could've been the Blue Ox, the Freeze, the Northern Lights, the Voyageurs, or the White Bears, but although those names weren't bad, they didn't seem right.

So why does the Wild seem like a perfect fit for a name? Well, it describes the way Minnesotans feel about their hockey team being back. 

This morning I planned to write my long anticipated plea-article about the Minnesota Wild's need to bring a local face home. Not only born in Minneapolis, Elk River, raised Zach Parise, a free agent-to-be, but the team he is on, the New Jersey Devils had been struggling, unorthodoxly, at historic proportions.

However, a recent 8-1-1 run may have changed all that, at least for now.

Yes, if someone told me George Parros, Derek Boogaard or Dan Carcillo would lead their teams in goals on the season, I would laugh too.

Minnesota's Cal Clutterbuck is a player with more skills than just the ability to hit opposing players into the glass. He has all the tools necessary to become one of the great goal scorers in the NHL.

Still unconvinced? Maybe a few stats might persuade you.

After another up and down start to the season for the Wild, Minnesota has found its stride and has a shot this year at returning to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Finally after some technology troubles, I have returned to give readers some insight on the first half of the season as well as what to expect in the last half so thank you for your patience.

First, the Wild started off this season much like they did last year, ups and downs, trouble scoring and trouble defending.

Coming into the 2010-11 NHL season there was a lot of uncertainty on the Minnesota Wild roster.

The one spot that there was none, though, was at the goalkeeper position.