(Best E Casino) - The Minnesota Wild have proven themselves to be a perennial playoff participant in recent years, but entry into the tournament is about as far as the club has gotten.
The Wild have made three consecutive trips to the postseason and won their first-ever Northwest Division title last year. The problem is Minnesota has been ousted in the opening round in each of the last three years. In fact, Minnesota won twice as many playoff games (8) in 2003, the franchise's first playoff year, than it has in its last three postseason trips combined.
Yet, Jacques Lemaire, the club's first and only head coach, is hardly to blame for the playoff drought. After all the NHL's best defensive strategist is worthy of consideration for the Jack Adams Award every year he gets the Wild to the postseason, considering his teams are usually devoid of superstars.
The team approach has worked to get the Wild into the playoffs, but outside of lightning-quick winger Marian Gaborik, Minnesota seems to lack the individual talent needed to match-up with opposing teams in the offseason.
Not for a lack of trying, the Wild struck out once again this summer in the task to lure another superstar to the "State of Hockey". And to make matters worse, this summer the club also saw Pavol Demitra and Brian Rolston, two of its top scorers from last year, sign free agent contracts elsewhere.
Lemaire does seem to work miracles in St. Paul, but going deep in the postseason this year could once again be too much to ask.
FORWARDS - As usual, the Wild's biggest concern is that Gaborik can remain healthy. That is especially important this year since Minnesota lost some offensive firepower in the offseason.
Gaborik was able to stay on the ice last year, playing in 77 games to post his highest total since he skated in 81 contests back in 2002-03. The Wild were rewarded with the best offensive season of the 26-year-old's career, as Gaborik set career highs in both goals (42) and assists (41).
The speedy Slovakian was also clutch, tying Rolston for the team lead with eight game-winning goals.
Still, it's hard to see where the 2008-09 version of the Wild is expected to make up for the loss of Rolston and Demitra. After all, Rolston, who also happens to be an excellent two-way player in the Lemaire mold, was coming off three straight 30-goal seasons with Minnesota and Demitra was the perfect playmaking center to place along side Gaborik.
Mikko Koivu, younger brother of Montreal mainstay Saku Koivu, is scheduled to take over for Demitra as the top-line center after posting 42 points (11 goals, 31 assists) in just 57 games last season.
Playing opposite Gaborik will likely be left wing Andrew Brunette, who returned to Minnesota as a free agent after spending three seasons in St. Paul during the earlier part of the decade. Brunette is a steady player who's averaged nearly 21 goals a season over his last six campaigns. He had 19 tallies and 59 points in 82 games with Colorado last year.
The Wild may rely on 20-year-old James Sheppard to play center on the second line. Sheppard was the ninth overall pick by Minnesota in the 2006 draft, but is still considered to be a work in progress after posting 19 points (4g, 15a) in 78 games last season.
Pierre-Marc Bouchard could play the right side on the second line after turning in a 63-point season (13g, 50a) in 2007-08. Still, Bouchard will need to be more of a goal-scorer this year to help boost Sheppard.
Left wing Mark Parrish had 16 goals last year, but his contract was bought out by the Wild just prior to the season.
Some of the players filling out the remaining lines will be new faces as general manager Dough Risebrough signed wingers Owen Nolan and Antti Miettinen in the offseason. Miettinen is a solid two-way player who had 34 points (15g, 19a) for Dallas last year.
Meanwhile, Nolan is a a fraction of the player he was during his heyday with the San Jose Sharks, but managed to notch 16 goals and 16 assists in 77 games with Calgary last season.
DEFENSE - While the Wild lost more than it gained on offense over the summer, Risebrough was able to add some solid players on the blue line.
Already boasting a solid top pairing of Brent Burns and Kim Johnsson, the Wild added puck-moving defensemen Marek Zidlicky and Marc-Andre Bergeron to the fold in the offseason.
Zidlicky came over in a deal with Nashville after notching 43 points (5g, 38a) with the Predators last season. The 31-year-old Czech has averaged nearly 44 points a year since joining the NHL ranks in the 2003-04 campaign.
Bergeron, who was acquired from Anaheim, is a goal-scoring threat from the blueline and totaled nine goals and 10 assists in 55 games with the New York Islanders and Ducks last season. The 27-year-old has scored as many as 15 goals in a season, which he achieved with Edmonton in 2005-06.
Burns and Johnsson are also solid offensive blueliners with the former leading all Minnesota defensemen with 43 points (15g, 28a) a year ago. Johnsson added four goals and 27 points for the Wild in 2007-08.
Burns is coming off elbow surgery performed in early September, but could be ready for the start of the season.
Also back this season to eat up minutes on the back end are veterans Nick Schultz and Martin Skoula.
GOALTENDING - Lemaire's team defense strategy usually makes things easy on Minnesota's goaltenders, as netminders usually face less shots as a result of Minnesota's stingy play.
Niklas Backstrom, 30, has certainly benefited from the system and turned in his second straight strong season between the pipes for the Wild last year. The Finnish backstop played in 58 games for the Wild and was 33-13-8 with a 2.31 goals against average and a robust save percentage of .920.
Once again Josh Harding will be called on to spell Backstrom despite turning in sub-par numbers last year. The 24-year-old Harding, who is expected to Minnesota's goaltender of the future, was just 11-15-2 in 2007-08 with a 2.94 GAA and .908 save percentage.
WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE - The Wild may not have enough offensive firepower to repeat as champions in the extremely competitive Northwest Division, but it would be unwise to count a Lemaire club out of postseason contention. Having a healthy Gaborik once again will be a must for a berth in the playoffs, but a deep postseason run isn't likely to be in the cards.
