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Minnesota Wild Gameday HQ

Minnesota WESTERN CONFERENCE WILD CENTRAL DIVISION Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, Charlie Coyle Offense The Minnesota Wild has had trouble scoring for years now. The team addressed that issue again this off-season with the signing of Thomas Vanek to a three-year deal away from the Montreal Canadiens. Vanek is coming off of a year where he played 78 games for three different franchises, a rare feat for any player. In that time, he registered 68 points (27 goals, 41 assists). The Wild hope his offense will translate well to the defense-first system that the team incorporates. This signing comes two years after the Wild made a huge splash in free agency by signing former New Jersey Devils captain Zach Parise to a mega-contract for 13 years worth $98 million. In 2013-14, Parise did not disappoint as he put up 29 goals and 27 assists. While his scoring ability is definitely valued by his team, his grit and winning attitude have not gone unnoticed by teammates and management alike. Jason Pominville was another player that was acquired to provide scoring punch, and he answered the bell. The former Buffalo Sabre put up 60 points (30 goals, 30 assists) for the Wild in his first full season with the team. This was the third time in Pominville’s career that he hit the 30-goal plateau, so while a repeat of that is not out of the realm of possibility, it is more reasonable to expect 25 goals from the 31-year-old playmaker. While all these recent additions will help the offense over the coming seasons, a full and healthy year out of team captain Mikko Koivu will go a long way towards fixing that scoring problem as well. In only 65 games Key Additions: Thomas Vanek, Justin Falk, Jordan Schroeder Key Subtractions: Matt Moulson, Nate Prosser, Dany Heatley, Clayton Stoner Strengths: A sound defensive team and coaching system Weaknesses: Questions in goal and offensive scoring issues Bruce Kluckhohn/NHL/Getty Images


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