Minnesota Wild Report Card Following First-Round Exit

After what turned out to be another disappointing postseason, the Minnesota Wild have been eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs after only six games.

The 2021-2022 campaign had been a good one for the Wild prior to their elimination. Minnesota went 53-22-7 in the regular season, which was the fifth-best mark in the NHL. As a result, they earned the second seed in the Central Division.

In the regular season, the team was led by forward Kirill Kaprizov who recorded the first 100-point season in franchise history (108 points). He was followed by forwards Kevin Fiala (85) and Mats Zuccarello (79).

One of the highlights of the regular season for Minnesota was the acquisition of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. The Flower appeared in 11 regular season contests, winning nine of them and posting a 2.74 goals against average and .910 save percentage.

The Wild have been eliminated in the First Round once again.

It became clear shortly after the trade deadline that Minnesota was destined to meet the St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference First Round. As two of the NHL’s most impressive teams, it was obvious that the series would be intense and yield a deserving winner.

Unfortunately for the Wild, that winner was St. Louis. This loss marks the seventh consecutive season that Minnesota has failed to advance in the postseason. The last time that this franchise was in round two was 2015 when it was swept by the Chicago Blackhawks.

It’s difficult to be too harsh on the Wild in this particular instance, because we knew that there were two Stanly Cup contenders in this series. At the same time, early exits have become a trend over the years in St. Paul.

This one hurts a little extra for a couple of reasons. First, this was the best regular season in team history. With 113 points, Minnesota exceeded its previous best by seven points, thus raising already-high expectations further.

Second, the addition of Fleury, a three-time champion, was expected to be the type of move that would elevate the Wild. In the end, he wasn’t even the starter, as Cam Talbot took the loss in Game 6.

There are plenty of positives to take out of this season in Minnesota, yet it feels like a waste. The Fleury deal will be a bust if he can’t be resigned, and with yet another disappointing playoff season in the books, there will be a lot of questions to answer in the offseason for the Wild.

The grade: C-