Now that the dust has had time to settle on the end of the Minnesota Wild season, it’s time to reflect on a few things I’ve heard from fans and media over these last few days. It’s important to remember the circumstances surrounding this team and that the injuries were at the forefront of course.
It’s been a long 82-game regular season, and the Wild were one of those teams that went through it all, from injuries to new players joining the lineup, etc. The team weathered the storm the best they could and got themselves to the postseason, to fall short of Round 2 again. This article will reflect on a few things this season, starting with how the Wild weren’t supposed to make it this far.
Wild Weren’t Supposed to Make It
If we go back to the beginning of the season, the Wild were not expected to make it to the playoffs or even be as competitive as they were. They came out on fire and surprised everyone by being one of the league’s best teams, showing they have the talent and exceeding everyone’s expectations. Many wondered how long it would last, and then the injuries hit, which seemed like the end of the road for the Wild, just another “flash in the pan,” so to speak.
However, the Wild continued to exceed expectations and win games without top guys in the lineup. It did come crashing down eventually when it was clear the injuries were mounting. This team was fighting tooth and nail to get wins and just looked exhausted. Regardless of everything going against them, they fought through and believed in themselves.
Most teams would’ve used the injuries as an excuse, “Well, we’re out our top scorer, how are we supposed to score?” but not the Wild. They expected every player who came up in place of the injured to play at that level and didn’t want to accept anything less. Was it an adjustment, and did they struggle? Of course, but anyone who would expect them to be perfect facing that adversity has unfair expectations. It’s not unfair to expect them to win some games, but it would’ve been nearly impossible to continue their run without their top players.
Wild’s Round 1 Exit
Many fans were ready to jump ship when the Wild fell in Game 4 and expected the team to fall. To be fair, they lost the next two games and were out, but it’s essential to look at the series up close and not the overall result. Their last Round 1 exits were embarrassing, and they were outmatched. However, things were close this season against the Vegas Golden Knights, and the Wild could’ve won that series. They didn’t, but the potential was there, and there was no give up in this team like in seasons past.
“I agree, we can sit here and say that we should’ve done this or should’ve won….but at the end of the day we didn’t so that’s disappointing as you all know and we, players are disappointed, and you guys are disappointed, everyone but I think that’s nothing more to say about that and we’re coming to next year and we’re going to win. I think that’s our mindset, to win next year and I think we played really well this whole year, we had a lot of injuries, stick together and then this playoffs I really thought we honestly did that, we were going to go to the next round and beyond but..,” said Mats Zuccarello in his exit interview about how their season ended.
Wild Have Bright Future
Every team likes to believe they have a bright future, but not all do. The Wild are among the few teams with a great future ahead. They already have Brock Faber, Matt Boldy, and Marco Rossi as young players in their roster who have worked hard to prove themselves. Faber and Boldy have cemented themselves into the Wild’s future, and Rossi has done well this past season, but it’s still unclear if he’ll be a part of that future.
Regardless, they have some up-and-coming players fans should also be excited about. One such player is Zeev Buium, who fans saw in four postseason games before he sat out Games 5 and 6. In that short time, he showed a lot of speed and skill and promise to become a top defenseman for the Wild. Besides Buium, Jesper Wallstedt, Danila Yurov, Liam Ohgren, and many others have yet to show their potential.
“To be honest with you, I don’t know. When I was 19 I played in Norway so it’s hard for me to put into.., but obviously you get a taste of how good of a league it is, every night we play one of the top teams in the league but every night it’s a battle, it doesn’t matter who you play. Everyone works hard, everyone can skate, everyone’s heavy, everyone’s good at something. I think it will help him realize going into the summer that okay this is a step up from where I am and college is college, I’ve never played it but obviously it’s good but it’s the NHL, it’s the best of the best and I think he did a good job…..” said Zuccarello in regards to his thoughts on Buium’s short stint in the NHL so far.
Wild Are Improving
After this season, the Wild are obviously taking steps forward despite almost everything pushing back against them. At the beginning of the season, they weren’t expected to be that good, but they started hot. Then the injury bug hit, and once again, it looked like their season was in jeopardy, but they pushed through the best they could and still squeaked into the postseason.
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