 This summer, the Minnesota Wild took a step toward making it to the next level of the NHL. Undergoing their first major leadership change since entering the league nearly a decade ago, the Wild began at the top by naming former Pittsburgh assistant general manager Cliff Fletcher as the team's general manager in April. Soon thereafter, Fletcher hired San Jose assistant coach Todd Richards as head coach. The Wild is serious about turning this team around in 2009-2010. While last season was a bit of a disappointment – finishing a mere two points out of a playoff position, despite significant time lost to injury for Marian Gaborik and powerplay catalyst Brett Burns – there were a few bright spots. Goaltender Nicklas Backstrom had a great season; establishing himself as one of the NHL's elite at his position, and earning recognition as a Vezina Trophy finalist. Minnesota also saw a number of young stars emerge as scoring threats, while Owen Nolan had a major comeback season by leading the Wild in goals despite missing 20 games. Another major change was Wild superstar Marian Gaborik's departure via free agency, yet another sign of the changing of the guard in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Fletcher's first major move as GM was swapping picks to acquire the rights to promising winger Kyle Brodziak, then signing him to a three-year contract. The new GM then brought in the mega-talented, but frequently injured, Martin Havlat at wing to fill the scoring void left by Gaborik's departure. Other significant moves included acquiring steady defensemen Greg Zanon and Shane Hnidy, while allowing Martin Skoula and Kurtis Foster to leave, resulting in a fairly major overhaul at the Minnesota blue line. For starters, this Wild squad should be significantly more fun to watch. Under their former coach, Minnesota would regularly trap and bore their opponents into submission. While this may have worked well at times – as only Boston allowed fewer goals last season – the Wild often didn't score enough to win, thus frustrating both players and fans with their passive play. This season should provide an up-tempo group of forwards. Putting Havlat on the wing with talented center Mikko Koivu (67 points last year) and Andrew Brunette (22 goals, 50 points), gives the Wild a genuine #1 line, assuming Havlat can stay healthy. Havlatt's 77 points in 81 games last year was the first time in five seasons that he managed to play in more than 70 games, and if he stays healthy, both he and Koivu could very likely approach the 100-point mark. Behind the new Wild first line is a crew of solid contributors, led by Nolan and other young stars, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Antti Miettinen. Also keep an eye on Cal Cutterbuck, whose extremely physical style could result in a bunch of goals during his sophomore campaign in the NHL. There is a lot of depth on hand and Minnesota should find scoring from a number of different providers. Besides the positive offensive outlook, the Minnesota Wild also possesses a highly mobile set of defensemen; Brett Burns, Kim Johnsson, and Marek Zidlicky, are extremely talented at connecting on big breakout passes and all should contribute heavily in both ends of the ice. That, along with the newly-acquired Zanon and Hnidy, gives Minnesota a solid group of defensemen in front of Backstrom, and the probability of a very strong season in their own end. In short, the Minnesota Wild came very close to a playoff berth in 2008-09, and they seemingly have made enough of the right moves to get over the hump this year. Wild tickets are waiting – buy some and get on over to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul to support Minnesota's run to the playoffs this season.
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