Minnesota Wild Tickets

Minnesota Wild 2010-11 Season Preview The good news is the Minnesota Wild actually finished with a winning record last season. The bad news is that they still finished fourth in the Northwest Division and 13th in the Western Conference.

The defensive mindset that was such a staple under Jacques Lemaire seemed to disappear with his absence. They went from second in goals against in 2008-2009 to 21st last year, a steep drop-off.

A team could sustain that type of statistical change if there was enough scoring to offset it, but that was not the case with the Wild.
However, there is hope this year that Mikko Koivu will continue his progression and become one of the top scorers in the conference.

The good news is that the slate is wiped clean this year and the Wild do compete in a division that lacks many of the top teams in the Western Conference. Outside of the Vancouver Canucks, the division is wide open.

The team didn't open up the checkbook like in previous summers, instead focusing on mid-level free agents who can do a lot of the little things that make the difference between winning and losing.

If everything comes together for Minnesota, there is no reason that they shouldn't be able to manage a second place finish in the division and claim one of the final playoff spots in the Western Conference.