In the off season the Minnesota Wild have lost a few key players to the free agency pool. Losing Brian Rolston and Pavol Demitra, both of whom were veteran goal scorers and natural leaders, won’t be easy for the Wild. This is the team that took the number 3 seed in the Western Conference in last year’s playoffs, largely due to the support of the two aforementioned goal scoring wonders.
General manager Doug Risebrough wasted little time in filling these gaping voids. For starters, he signed Andrew Brunette (Wild Player from 2001-2004) and believes that his consistent play will help balance out the team mentality and put up large goal/assist numbers. Only five days after Brunette’s signing, Risebrough also landed another highly skilled veteran: Owen Nolan. Nolan, 36, accrued 16 goals and 16 assists last year for the Calgary Flames. A big change was added to the defense as well, bringing in Marek Zidlicky from the Nashville Predators. Luckily for the Wild, their amazing goalie Niklas Backstrom will return as well, ready to stifle all goal scorers. The Minnesota Wild may have a very different lineup from last year but it is one that may put them in the Stanley Cup Finals.