The wait is finally over as the Wild take the ice this evening in Los Angeles and all eyes will be onb Kirill Kaprizov for sure. However he is not the sole focus as Kevin Fiala is a budding star and in the final year of his contract, he is poised to build on his strong 2020 breakout.

It is an exciting time for the Wild, who have long been the same show different day team. Solid regular season, middle of the road team, never really bad and never one of the upper echelon teams.

Bill Guerin was hired to change the face of the franchise and the culture, all while at the same time keeping the team competitive on the ice. The reason being, they had so many key veterans like Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, Mikko Koivu, and Eric Staal tied to significant contracts, not to mention the State of Hockey faithful who fill the Xcel Energy Center.

That is no easy tast, by any standard, especially in today's NHL, with the salary cap and the emphasis on speed and skill. Guerin inherited a team that was old and slow for the most part, but did have some pieces in which the future was not entirely bleak.

Guerin's predecessor, Paul Fenton, did make some very good moves in his short tenure with his crown jewel being the aforementioned, Kevin Fiala. That trade at the 2019 deadline sent popular Wild forward Mikael Granlund to the Predators in echange for Fiala.

Many fans were upset with the one for one swap, and most of the media cried that the Wild should have gotten a draft pick tacked on to the return for the more proven Granlund. On the surface maybe, but you don't need to dig too deep to see why that trade was lopsided for sure, but in the favor of the Wild, not the Preds.

Granlund was about to enter the final year of his contract and quite honestly he had progressed to what he was going to be in the NHL. There really was not much more upside to his game, while Fiala had shown signs of being the ultra talented offensive player the Predators thought they were getting when they slected him in the 1st round in 2014. Fiala was an RFA, with a limited resume and due a new deal which would be a bridge deal, giving the Wild the benefit of a hungry skilled young player ready to step up and earn his next deal.

We all saw what happened last season and now we are ready to see the most talented Wild forward, definitely since Marian Gaborik, but possibly ever in their 20-year history.

Combine that with the arrival of Kaprizov and the Wild now have an heir of excitment that makes them must see TV whenever they take the ice. There is no more talk of the Wild lacking the star players as Fiala is one of the league'best forwards, and we are about to find out if Kaprizov is everything he has been billed to be as well.

Kaprizov has done everything he can do outside the NHL to prove he is worthy, and now the he is set to hit the biggest stage in the National Hockey League.

The Wild center ice situation has been well documented as Eric Staal and Mikko Koivu are no longer here. In their place are native son, Nick Bjugstad and Nick Bonino. Marcus Johnasson was acquired for Staal, from Buffalo, and originally pencilled into the top line center position.

That all changed once camp opened and Bjugstad became the pivot on the top line. The acquistion of Bonino along with the pick the Wild used to select the ultra taleneted Marat Khusnutdinov, in exchange for Luke Kunin was both a now and future move. Bonino begins the season as the second line center between Johansson and Fiala.

Bonino brings a wealth of experience including nearly 100 playoff games and two Stanley Cup rings. He is better suited as a third line center but given the Wild depth at center he is serviceable in this role, allowing Johansson to play his more natural left wing.

Joel Eriksson Ek was initially slotted into one of the top two lines but his value is surely best as the Wild's shut down center. Ek is one of the very best checking centers and he has the uncanny ability to throw off the opposition's best players every night. The beauty of JEE's game is that he does it without taking penalties in the process.

Minnesota has long been known for their defense corps, and that has not changed one bit, as the top four of Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, Jonus Brodin, and Matt Dumba are intact and as strong a top four as the league has. The 3rd pair of Carson Soucy and Greg Patteryn is big and strong in front of the Wild crease. Brad Hunt slides into the third pair and also adds powerplay punch when the matchups favor speed over size and strength.

There is no denying that the Wild goaltending in 2019-20, was not up to the standards needed as the Wild gave up 3 goals per game, yet yielded the 6th fewest shots per game. That tells us all we need to know.

Devan Dubnyk was dealt to the Sharks and Cam Talbot was signed to a three-year free agent contract as his replacement. Talbot had a solid bouceback season last year in Calgary, posting a respectable .919 save percentage to go along with his 2.63 GAA. Talbot does not need to be spectacular for the Wild to be successful, he just needs to stop the pucks that he is supposed to stop and avoid the untimely goals against that we saw all too often last season.


Alex Stalock begins the year on the injury list and as we found out yeterday he has been also added to thr Covid-19 list the NHL updates daily. Stalock had his best season in 2020, but is best served as a backup goalie, with the ability to come in cold and give the team the lift that they need. However when he has been called upon to take the reigns the results beging to dip.

Kaapo Kahkonen is the Wild goalie of the future and is the backup to Talbot to begin the season. Kahkonen had a solid 5 game audition with the Wild a year ago going 3-1-1 with a .913 save percentage. Kahkonen took home top goaltender honors in the AHL last season, with his 25 win, .927 save percentage, and 2.07 GAA in 34 games with the Iowa Wild.

The opening night lines:
Forwards:
Zach Parise - Nick Bjugstad - Kirill Kaprizov
Marcus Johansson - Nick Bonino - Kevin Fiala
Marcus Foligno - Joel Eriksson Ek - Jordan Greenway
Nico Sturm - Victor Rask - Ryan Hartman
Gerry Mayhew

Defense:
Jonas Brodin - Jared Spurgeon
Ryan Suter - Matt Dumba
Carson Soucy - Greg Patteryn
Brad Hunt

Goalies:
Cam Talbot
Kaapo Kahkonen

Injuries:
Mats Zuccarello
Alex Stalock

Taxi Squad:
Forwards: Luke Johnson, Kyle Rau
Defense: Louie Belpedio, Matt Bartkowski, Dakota Mermis
Goalie: Andrew Hammond

It's always Hockey Day in the State of Hockey!

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