Luckiest jerseys in the NHL’s long and storied history
24. Minnesota Wild
Much like the Columbus Blue Jackets, there isn’t much to talk about with this 2000-01 expansion team. Like Columbus, they’ve been competitive in some seasons but remain consistently behind a couple of powerhouse teams in their division. Currently, the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators look unreachable. In the past, it was the Chicago Blackhawks. Prior to 2013, the Wild played in the NHL’s Northwest division – usually finishing behind the Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks.
The Wild have always been decent, but also always lacking a key piece to make a Cup run. The current installment of the Wild are on a six-year run in which they’ve made the playoffs. Unfortunately, they have only gotten out of the first round in two of those seasons, never getting through the second. The Wild are a perennial “good” team, but that’s all.
The luckiest this team has been would be in the 2002-03 season. After finishing third in the Northwest division, they went on to defeat the Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks in the first two rounds of the playoffs, both in seven games. Their run was stopped by J.S. Giguere and the Anaheim Ducks who were on their ridiculous run to the Cup final. Fitting that the one year in which they had it all together is the one year they meet a record-setting goaltender.
The Wild would never reach the third round of the playoffs after that season. It doesn’t look like they’ll be making it any time soon, either, given how good Winnipeg and Nashville are. Being the third best team in a division tempts you to compete each year as opposed to entering a mini-rebuild, so don’t be surprised if this unlucky team ends up finishing in third or fourth place and being a first round playoff out for the next two decades.
Sorry Wild fans – no luck here. You’re team is good, but they just don’t have enough to be great.