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Manny Fernandez was only so-so last season and the Wild still managed to win 26 games, improving by five points from their inaugural season. So while Minnesota remained far out of playoff contention, this remains a praiseworthy expansion project -- if you look past the stultifying style espoused by Jacqes Lemaire.
Although the Doug Risebrough regime has done it with the imaginative and cost-contained approach, and the Wild have one of the top young players in the game in Marian Gaborik, a regression is likely this season. (Yes, we thought that last season, too.) Yes, Minnesota is hockey territory, but with the sort of competition for the hockey dollar that helped grease the skids for the North Stars' departure when that franchise turned off the fans, you still wonder if a regression and a continuation of the Lemaire style will end the honeymoon.
The rising star: Thirty goals for a limited-talent, Lemaire-coached expansion team in this era? Heck, considered in that context, Gaborik's 30 goals for the Wild last season translates into the equivalent of Phil Esposito's 76-goal season with the Bruins 31 years ago. So the young Slovak is one of the bright, young lights of the league -- and he probably hasn't yet gotten his due. But the issue is not just whether he can be even more productive this season, but if he was be so compelling to help nudge this team to playoff contention. That's probably unrealistic, but you never know.
Manny's travails: Which Fernandez will we see this season? The one who was so staunch during the expansion season, or the one who probably didn't even deserve to split time with journeyman Dwayne Roloson last season? Good question. If the answer is that if we saw the real Manny Fernandez last season, we probably won't see as much of him this season. And the Wild will be in big trouble.
Ronning's travels: After acquiring the diminutive veteran center from the Kings, the Wild hope Cliff Ronning can provide both leadership among the young forwards -- including Gaborik and Pascal Dupuis -- and some spark. That's an awful lot to ask from the 37-year-old Ronning.
Preseason schedule
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DATE
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OPPONENT
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TIME (ET)
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Fri., Sept. 20
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at Anaheim
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10:30 p.m.
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Sun., Sept. 22
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at Edmonton
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8 p.m.
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Mon., Sept. 23
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at Calgary
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9 p.m.
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Wed., Sept. 25
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Calgary
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8 p.m.
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Sat., Sept. 28
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at St. Louis
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8 p.m.
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Tue., Oct. 1
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Anaheim
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8 p.m.
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Thu., Oct. 3
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Edmonton
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8 p.m.
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Sun., Oct. 6
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vs. Atlanta at Grand Forks, N.D.
(Ralph Engelstad Arena)
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3 p.m.
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