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The Minnesota Wild have a history of great regular seasons but poor playoff performances. With 13 playoff appearances in 23 seasons, there are plenty of teams to pick from for their top ten teams list. From Mikko Koivu to Kirill Kaprizov, great players have led these teams to the playoffs.
While there is no bonafide number one, they have a deep list for such a new team. Where does their lone Western Conference Final appearance rank? And how can the 2024-25 Wild work their way onto the list? Let's take a look at the top ten teams in Minnesota Wild history.
Greatest Wild team of all time: 2021-22
The '21-'22 Wild are the only team in franchise history with 50 wins. Their regular season finished with 113 points and a second-place finish in the division. Karpizov led the team with 47 goals, 61 assists, and 108 points. After a breakout rookie season, he backed it up this season with his first 100-point campaign. Marc-Andre Fleury was brought in mid-season to help their goaltending.
That help did not come in clutch during the playoffs. They lost in six games to the St Louis Blues in the first round despite Kaprizov's seven goals. The Wild goaltending was not great, with Fleury putting up a .906 save percentage in five games. Cam Talbot played over him and game six and allowed four goals in the loss.
#2: 2020-21
The Wild entered the 56-game 2021 season with very low expectations. They had some of the longest Stanley Cup odds in the pre-season but got a surprise season from a rookie. Kaprizov won the Calder Trophy for best rookie with his 24 goals and 51 points. They finished third in the West Division.
The first round of the playoffs spelled the end of this season once again. Facing the Vegas Golden Knights, they won games five and six to force a game seven. The Knights dominated game seven, winning 6-2 to advance.
#3: 2002-03
The first two seasons in Wild history were not ideal. They finished last in their division both years, not coming anywhere close to the playoffs. The '02-'03 season was a different story, putting up 95 points and finishing third in the division. Marian Gaborik led the team with 30 goals and 65 points at just 20 years old.
The playoffs started with a first-round matchup with the Colorado Avalanche. The Wild won game five by one goal and games six and seven in overtime to advance. They went down 3-1 in the next series as well, coming back to beat the Canucks. Minnesota's comeback tendencies came to a screeching halt in the conference final. They were swept by the Ducks on their way to their lone title.
#4: 2014-15
The Wild put up their second 100-point season in 2014-15. They made the playoffs for this Wild Card for the third time since signing Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Parise led the team with 33 goals and 62 points, his only 30-goal campaign with the Wild. Devin Dubnyk was one of the best goalies in the league, putting up a .936 save percentage in 39 games.
The playoffs began with a series against the Blues. Parise put up seven points in their six-game victory to lead the team offensively. They allowed 14 goals on the way to the victory. The second round did not go as well for the Wild. The Blackhawks swept them to end their season and catapulted Chicago to their third title in six years.
#5: 2013-14
The Wild went 10 seasons without advancing in the playoffs after their '03 conference final loss. They put up 98 points in '13-'14 to make the playoffs for only the third time since that season, looking to end the drought. Jason Pominville led the team with 30 goals and 60 points while Darcy Kuemper, Josh Harding, Ilya Bryzgalov, and Niklas Backstrom shared the net.
The playoffs started with a matchup against the Avalanche. After losing game five in overtime, the Wild won game six and game seven, that one in overtime, to finally advance. They went down 2-0 to the Blackhawks in the second round but fought back to tie the series. They lost the final two games to end the season after game six.
#6: 2016-17
After a coaching change at the end of the previous season, the 2016-17 Wild put up a then-franchise record 106 points. Dubnyk was incredible again, with a .923 save percentage and a 2.25 goals-against average to finish fifth in Vezina Trophy voting for top goaltender. Eric Stall led the team with 28 goals and Mikael Granlund topped the points list with 69 points.
The Wild faced the Blues again in a very low-scoring first-round series. Only 17 goals were scored between the two teams across their five-game tilt. The Blues won the series with a 4-3 overtime victory in the final game.
#7: 2006-07
The Wild put up 104 points and finished second in their division thanks to a league-best defense. They allowed the fewest goals in the NHL with 191 thanks to Niklas Backstrom's breakout season. As a 28-year-old rookie, he posted a league-best 1.97 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage. He finished sixth in Vezina voting.
The playoffs began with a series against the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks won the first three games by one goal each to take a commanding lead. The Wild were able to snag game four, but Anaheim won game five 4-1 to advance.
#8: 2022-23
After their 113-point disappointment the year before, the Wild needed to put together another good regular season in '22-'23. On the backs of another 40-goal season for Kaprizov, they put up 103 points to return to the playoffs. Fleury had a solid season as the top goalie, with a .908 save percentage and a 2.85 goals-against average.
The playoffs brought a series against the Dallas Stars. After the Stars left Minnesota for Texas, they faced the Wild only one other time in the playoffs. The second time around went the same as the 2016 meeting, with Dallas taking the series in six games.
#9: 2017-18
This season has a similar script to the previous entries on the list. Eric Stall led the team with 42 goals, the goaltending from Dubnyk was stellar, and the Wild put up 101 points in the standings. This was Dubnyk's last great season, with a fifth-place Vezina finish representing the final votes he ever received for the award.
This time, the first-place Winnipeg Jets awaited them in the first round. The Wild only got nine goals past Connor Hellebuyck in five games to end their season.
#10: 2007-08
The only division title in Wild history comes in at number ten on the list. They only put up 98 points but won the Northwest Division over the Colorado Avalanche. Gaborik led the team with 42 goals and 83 points in his last full season with the Wild. Backstrom had a .920 save percentage in the regular season to backstop the team.
The Wild faced the Avalanche in the first round and lost this series as well. They took a 2-1 series lead but dropped the next three games to lose in six. While the disappointing end was not great, the Avalanche ran into the Red Wings, who were a force on their way to the title that season.
