This NHL Saturday, we’re back to normalcy with a look at a current franchise: the Minnesota Wild, who entered the league as a traditional expansion team in 2000. The team has never made it to the Cup Finals, but it’s been relatively competitive, all things considered: 10 postseason berths in the last 12 seasons, but the Wild’s only visit to the Conference Finals came back in its third season—which was a long time ago!

No. 10: Kirill Kaprizov, LW—45 PS (2020-present)

A fifth-round pick in 2015, he’s found a spot in the team’s rotation to post high-end production: he was the Calder vote winner in 2021 and an All-Star selection in 2022-2024. With 366 points in 300 regular-season games, he’s doing pretty good for himself and the organization that drafted him. But he’s added just 12 points in 19 playoff games, so there’s still some leadership that needs to come with his production at times.

No. 9: Zach Parise, LW—49 PS (2012-2021)

The Wild did not get the best years from this former first rounder, that’s for sure. He joined the franchise at age 28 after seven seasons with the New Jersey Devils, and he just didn’t have the same juice anymore: just 400 points in 558 regular-season games, with no All-Star appearances. He was better in the postseason with 37 points in 44 games, but for a first-round pick, it’s easy to see he never fulfilled that promise on ice.

No. 8: Manny Fernandez, G—49 PS (2000-2007)

A third rounder, he got spot starts in Dallas for five seasons before being acquired by the Wild to start at age 26. He then had a lot of productive seasons: 113-102-28 with a .914 save percentage and 12 shutouts. He never made an All-Star team, but he partnered with someone else on this list to help the team finish No. 1 in goals against during his final season in Minnesota. His 1.96 GAA helped the team reach the WCFs in 2003.

No. 7: Jonas Brodin, D—57 PS (2012-present)

A Wild long timer on the blue line, he was the No. 10 overall pick in 2011. Yet he’s never made All Star, and his best season (6.1 PS) was last year at age 30. He’s been a part of the most successful era in organizational history, but he’s only finished in the Norris Top 20 vote twice (2015, 2020). Over 67 postseason games, he’s only helped the team get past the first round twice (2014-2015). Certainly, a lot more was expected here, eh?

No. 6: Marián Gáborík, RW—58 PS (2000-2009)

The No. 3 overall pick in the 2000 Draft, he played eight seasons in Minnesota, with mixed results. Twice he was an All Star (2003, 2008), yet he only finished in the Hart Top 20 voting twice (2007-2008). And then he left town. Since the Wild only made the postseason three times in its first eight years, his era wasn’t the brightest in team history, despite that WCFs push in 2003. They let him go to greener pastures at just age 27.

No. 5: Devan Dubnyk, G—59 PS (2015-2020)

In terms of PS per season for the Wild, he’s right up at the top of this list. He was a first rounder in 2004, and after three other teams gave up on him, he joined the Wild at age 28. He posted a 177-113-28 record in parts of six seasons with the team, to go along with 23 shutouts and a .918 save percentage. Twice, he finished in the Top 5 Vezina vote (2015, 2018) here, too. His 8-18 playoff record reflects the team, though.

No. 4: Ryan Suter, D—68 PS (2012-2021)

After being the No. 7 overall pick elsewhere, he came to Minnesota at age 28 via free agency and made two All-Star teams (2015, 2017) with the Wild. In his first five seasons with the team, he was a Top 10 Norris vote finisher each year—and we gave him our hardware in 2013. He faded a bit from that peak stretch before leaving the organization after his age-36 season. His playoff experiences were disappointing, however, obvi.

No. 3: Mikko Koivu, C—70 PS (2005-2020)

He played all but one season of his NHL career in Minnesota, after being the No. 6 pick overall in 2001. He never made All Star, and the only major award he ever earned votes for was the Selke; yet he finished in the Top 21 voting for that one a whopping eight times. His best season was 2009-2010 when he finished with 7.4 PS; he was a grinder more so than a super star justifying his draft status: just 28 points in 59 playoff games.

No. 2: Niklas Bäckström, G—73 PS (2006-2015)

He played 409 of his 413 total NHL games with the Wild: his 194-142-50 record in net came with one All-Star nod (2009) and four Top 10 finishes in the Vezina voting (2007-2009, 2013). He topped his peers in Point Shares once, too, with a career-high 15.6 PS in 2008-2009. In fact, his first six seasons? He averaged double-digit PS marks. He got just 11 starts in the playoffs, though, going 3-8, thanks to overall team sloth.

No. 1: Jared Spurgeon, D—83 PS (2010-present)

For a sixth-round pick, he’s had a steady career with the Wild, and they didn’t even draft him. The New York Islanders did in 2008, but he never played a game for them. We gave him our Norris in 2023, and he’s finished Top 20 in the voting five times overall (2017, 2019-2020, 2022-2023), while never making it as an All Star. Again, steady is the word here: he’s never cracked 9.0 PS in a season, but he’s been solid enough.