It has been very hard for the Minnesota Wild this season. After losing to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night, they have fallen to 16-16-4.
It isn't this horrific record if you are a rebuilding team but they expect to be in the playoffs. Right now, they have 36 points which is good for seventh place in the Central Division.
They only are ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks who have 24 points. At least the Wild aren't that bad. Well, no. If the Wild aren't going to be a playoff team, they might as well be in a better position for the draft lottery. However, they have worked hard to stay close to the race.
They have a good core being built but they could use some more depth up front and on the blue line. It doesn't help that they are restricted by the salary cap right now.
Once the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts clear, they will have some wiggle room to get this thing going in the right direction again.
Injuries
The injuries are starting to pile up for the Minnesota Wild. In their game against Calgary, they were missing Marcus Foligno, Kirill Kaprizov, Mats Zuccarello, Filip Gustavsson, and Jonas Brodin.
That is a lot of great NHL talent missing from the lineup. That goes especially for Kirill Kaprizov who is one of the best offensive players in the NHL. The Wild are lucky to have a superstar like that but things are always hard when he isn't in the lineup.
Filip Gustavsson is also an especially tough loss for the Wild as he is expected to be their goaltender. Marc-Andre Fleury is still capable in his older years but having two good goalies is important for this team.
As a result of these injuries, the Wild have a lot of inexperienced players in the lineup in their place. It is always hard to deal with that.
The Wild weren't in a good spot before the health concerns and now that there are some injury troubles, things are getting even worse. You'd like to see them make a move or two if these injuries are going to linger.
World Juniors
2026 World Junior Championship coming to the Twin Cities: Sources - The Athletic
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) January 3, 2024
From @coreypronman and me https://t.co/W4IBLcyjDi
On Wednesday, we found out that Minnesota is going to host the World Junior championships in two years.
The NHL's next bright stars will take center stage in Minnesota. This year's edition of the tournament is about to wrap up in Sweden and it has been incredible. Thinking about it on American soil, especially the great hockey state of Minnesota, is awesome.
Minnesota is one of the great hockey places in the world. This is going to be an outstanding opportunity for them to showcase all of the best prospects from around the world.
The Xcel Energy Center and Mariucci Arena will host the games. It is going to be amazing seeing Team USA as the host country and there isn't a better spot than the Twin Cities.
Next Wild Game
The Minnesota Wild are back in action again on Thursday. They will be hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning in what should be a very fun game.
The Wild will be underdogs in this game but they can play good teams hard. The Lightning are the world beaters that they once were but they are still loaded with Hall of Fame talent. It would be a great way for the Wild to earn two points if they can get it done.