2003 Minnesota Wild

The Wild are not the first NHL team to play in Minnesota. The Minnesota North Stars played there from 1967 until 1993, when owner Norm Green moved the team to Dallas, Texas, and renamed it the Stars. Soon after the North Stars departed, a group of Minnesota investors began searching for a new team. On June 25, 1997, the NHL officially awarded expansion team franchises to Minnesota; Atlanta, Georgia; Nashville, Tennessee; and Columbus, Ohio.

Businessman Bob Naegele, Jr., who is associated with the in-line skate manufacturer Rollerblade, Inc., was the Wild's lead investor and was most closely involved in bringing the team to Minnesota. He heads Minnesota Hockey Ventures, the company that owns the Wild. The Wild's first season in the NHL was the 2000-01 campaign. Before the season the team filled its roster by selecting players in a series of drafts.

In 2002, the Minnesota Wild pick Marian Gaborik #3 in Round 1 of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft and in 2003, the Wild, in their first ever playoff appearance, make an unprecedented NHL Stanley Cup Playoff run by making it all the way to the Western Conference Finals before being swept 4-0 by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The Wild may not have as much talent as some teams, but under coach Jacques Lemaire, they play hard. This season, they posted a five-point improvement and climbed two spots in the overall standings. Lemaire continues to stress the team concept to the point of alternating his captain every month. The result is a team willing to sacrifice, one that ranked fourth in the league in blocked shots. Just 20, Marian Gaborik is a rising star who set team records with 30 goals, 37 assists and 67 points. The addition of veteran Cliff Ronning should improve an offense that ranked 25th in the NHL.

The Wild play their home games at the Xcel Energy Center, which also hosts special events as well as concerts.