Though the Minnesota Wild finished the 2008-09 season in 3rd place in the Northwest Division, they failed to make the playoffs by a measly 2 points, and determined to avoid a repeat for the 2009-10 season, the team has both a new head coach (Todd Richards) and new GM (Chuck Fletcher). The other changes in the offseason weren’t nearly as big: forwards Dan Fritsche, Stephane Veilleux and Marian Gaborik and blueliners Kurtis Foster, Martin Skoula and Marc-Andre Bergeron left and were replaced by forwards Kyle Brodziak, Petr Sykora and Martin Havlat and blueliners Shane Hnidy and Greg Zanon. Mostly, the team will work on internal improvement and growth, counting on that to return them to the playoffs. Expect some exciting plays from the Wild this season as the new coaches take the team in a more offense-oriented direction, which should make the already hard to come by Wild tickets even more scarce. Don’t wait until they’re all gone, secure your Xcel Energy Center tickets today!

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.