The Minnesota Wild were able to rebound from a terrible January to make the playoffs. They made two huge acquisitions this offseason. The first? Eric Staal, who should rebound from a less than ideal contract year.
However, the second one is far more significant. The Wild hired Bruce Boudreau as their full-time head coach.
Boudreau’s teams make the playoffs. It’s what they do. Since entering the league, Boudreau has never missed the playoffs in a full season. The lone time he missed the playoffs was in 2011-12, when he got fired by the Washington Capitals and hired by the Anaheim Ducks. So expect the Wild to make a return to the playoffs.
The Wild have one of the better rosters in the NHL. While it lacks elite scoring talent, they still have Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu. Minnesota also has a plethora of young forwards who should improve under Boudreau, including Charlie Coyle, Nino Niederreiter, Erik Haula, and Jason Zucker. They also have a strong blue line and a very solid goaltender in Devan Dubnyk.
That said, the Wild still face a bit of an uphill battle to make the playoffs thanks to the depth of the Central Division. But they have the talent necessary to make the playoffs and potentially make a deep playoff run.