For the first time during the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter era the Minnesota Wild missed out on the playoffs last season. The run of six straight playoff appearances came to a crashing halt. It was a season that saw then general manger, Paul Fenton trade core pieces like Charlie Coyle, Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund. Fenton was recently fired after lasting a whopping 14 months on the job.
Even with all the mayhem surrounding the team this offseason, the Wild still have an experienced core mixed with some tantalizing young talent. That mix could lead to a surprising playoff berth for the Wild.