Wild out to prove they belong in 'next tier'
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The staircase to prominence was laid out in front of the Minnesota Wild in 2009 by new general manager Chuck Fletcher, who started to reshape an organization that had been a middling participant in the NHL's Western Conference aside from one appearance in the conference finals in 2003.
Lean years followed.
After missing the playoffs in 2009 led to sweeping changes -- including the hiring of Fletcher -- Minnesota would be held out of the playoffs for another three seasons. Fletcher and his staff built up the Wild's base of prospects. The overhaul received the jolt it needed in 2012 when Fletcher coerced stars Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to join his rebuilding efforts.
Minnesota ascended the steps Fletcher had laid out. A return to the playoffs was followed by a trip to the second round last year. The Wild had served notice to the rest of the NHL of their climb.
"The first year, we wanted to make the playoffs. That was our big goal," Suter said. "Last year we wanted to get into the playoffs and try to make some noise. We did that. We got to show our potential, I think. I think this year our expectations are to make the playoffs, and then once you're in the playoffs, we set the bar pretty high for ourselves."
Step by step, the Minnesota made its moves. Adding high-scoring winger Thomas Vanek this offseason was the latest rung. An afterthought in the West no more, the Wild plan on climbing another stair as they open the season Thursday night with a home game against the Colorado Avalanche.
"For me, we have to try to prove that we're in that next tier," head coach Mike Yeo said. "The simple fact is, basically what we've said, is we know that we can be a contender. We know that if do what we're supposed to do then we could have a shot to win the Stanley Cup.
"In the same breath, we also know that we can miss the playoffs looking at our division, looking at our conference. There is an awful lot of things to be taken care of before we can get to there. When I talk about getting into that next tier, it would sure be nice to become a team that not many people have any doubt whatsoever that you're going to be in the playoffs."
The goal, for now, is the playoffs.
Minnesota wants to take another step forward this season. Winning the Stanley Cup is the dream, but the Wild know they can't do so without first making the playoffs.
Making the playoffs for the third straight season -- which would be the first time in franchise history -- is the first step. Once there, Minnesota says the goals reset.
"We're fooling ourselves if we say, 'Oh, we want to win the Stanley Cup this year,'" Suter said. "You start thinking about the Stanley Cup and then it's like 'Oh geez, here we go.' You lose a couple games and then you're, 'Oh, we're not going to win it this year.' For me, and I think for a lot of the guys in here, we've got to get to the playoffs first."
The Wild's steps have come on the strength of additions like Parise, Suter, Jason Pominville and Vanek. The growth of the team's young players, the initial focus for Fletcher, has been nearly as important.
Minnesota's opening-night lineup will likely include forwards Charlie Coyle, Mikael Granlund, Erik Haula, Nino Niederreiter, Jason Zucker; defensemen Jonas Brodin, Matt Dumba, Christian Folin, Marco Scandella and Jared Spurgeon, and goaltender Darcy Kuemper, all of whom are under 25 years old as the season begins.
"We know we have a team that can make another run and have a good season," Coyle said. "I think we're a really confident team and really confident in who we have in this locker room and coaches and staff and management and all that. I think in the whole organization, we're just confident. We know we can do some damage this season and take it even further than where we got last year."
Of the players the Wild used in the playoffs last season, only Matt Moulson, Dany Heatley, Cody McCormick and Clayton Stoner are gone. Those four accounted for 20 regular-season goals with Minnesota.
Enter Vanek, a two-time, 40-goal scorer in the NHL and one of the most dangerous goal-scorers on the power play. Vanek had 27 goals (eight on the power play, which was his career low) in 78 games last season while splitting time among three teams.
"We have a lot of high-end players and he definitely adds to that list," Coyle said.
Vanek's Minnesota roots as a former star at the University of Minnesota were well-documented, as was his friendship with Pominville with the two playing together for several years in Buffalo. But Vanek, a nine-year veteran with 277 career goals, had watched from afar and witnessed those steps made by the Wild.
"You see what other teams do," Vanek said. "How Chicago built their team, how they won, Boston and L.A., and I think this team is close to that."
The Wild weren't the only team in the Central Division to make a high-profile addition. The offseason turned into an arms race in the Central, particularly down the middle of the ice.
The St. Louis Blues signed center Paul Stastny from the Colorado Avalanche. Colorado countered by adding forward, and noted Minnesota pain, Jarome Iginla.
The Dallas Stars traded for former Ottawa center Jason Spezza and signed winger Ales Hemsky. The Chicago Blackhawks added center Brad Richards. Nashville traded for Pittsburgh wing James Neal and signed center Mike Ribeiro.
"The teams that were there last year, I think, got better and the teams that weren't there got better," Yeo said. "I'm not going to say anything about the other divisions, but I just know how difficult our division is . . . Our division's getting better. It's already strong, but we like to think that we're better too."
Another stair is in front of the Wild to prove it.
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