The Minnesota Wild has been doing their best to shed the image of "defensive specialists." They've introduced a bit of scoring to their arsenal. While there are some quality pieces in place (Mikko Koivu and Martin Havlat), there wasn't a ton done over the off-season to help this plan. Drafting Mikael Granlund, however, was a step in the right direction. More of the moves were to improve their playoff prospects.
As far as scoring goes, avoiding the injury bug could be the biggest thing done to help progress.
While it's out of the Wild's control, losing players such as Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Brent Burns to injury didn't help last year. Along with that, starting the season without James Sheppard sets them back too even if he's coming off of a big down year.
Then there's always the concern that the oft-injured Havlat could be stricken with something as well.
In their history, the Wild have developed a track record that leaves their fans with high expectations. This is a team that expects to compete for a playoff spot. To not do so last year was a big let down.
This year the post-season is firmly in their sights again. ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Bryan Thiel
BT’s 10 Bold 2010-11 NHL Predictions: The Minnesota Wild
September 21st, 2010 by Bryan Thiel Leave a reply »
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