An Off-Season Look at ... The Minnesota Wild

By Jes

Over at Das FanHaus, I have a capsule preview of the Minnesota Wild, a team which will give the Canucks a great deal of competition in the Northwest division.

Just like the Canucks, the Wild pretty much stood pat, and did very little other than trade Manny Fernandez for Petr Kalus.

I know it's hard to believe, but Marian Gaborik has never had more than 40 goals or 70 points in a season.

He's got Pavol, he's got speed, he's got health (I hope), so now is the time to break the 40-50 goal plateaus and show us that he's a true star. There has been so much potential for this guy to skate circles around the league, but various factors, self-induced and not, have held this guy back. Really, he's got a huge salary, and needs to start earning it.

Here's the salary structure for the Wild.

It wasn't so long ago that the Wild had a pretty decent roster chalk full of cheap guys. Now? They are a fairly expensive roster, with few bargains to be found. Johnsson is pricey, Parrish is overpaid, and the rest of their stars are well compensated.

The Wild still have some room to add another piece or two, especially at RW, where Parrish isn't so productive any longer, and Koivu is playing out of position.

I fear the Avalanche' offence, but their goaltending is suspect. The Wild have a well-balanced team, a great coach, and good goaltending. It will certainly be a tight race between the Canucks/Wild/Avalanche, and I expect many great divisional matchups throughout the season.