Minnesota Wild News

Jan 7, 2012; Dallas, TX, USA; Edmonton Oilers defenseman Andy Sutton tries to clear Dallas Stars left wing Brenden Morrow from in front of goalie Nikolai Khabibulin during the second period at the American Airlines Center.

This is Michael Russo's 18th year covering the National Hockey League. He's covered the Minnesota Wild for the Star Tribune since 2005 following 10 years of covering the Florida Panthers for the Sun-Sentinel. Michael uses "Russo's Rants" to feed a wide-ranging hockey-centric discussion with readers, and can be heard weekly on KFAN radio and seen ... (more)

The U.S. men's hockey team that won a bronze medal by winning seven of 10 games in the World Championship in Stockholm, including a 3-2 shootout victory over Finland, had eight Minnesota players and one assistant coach from Minnesota.

General Manager Chuck Fletcher and head coach Mike Yeo have a decision to make on several free agents.

Mar 23, 2013; St. Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Zach Parise celebrates his goal against the San Jose Sharks at the Xcel Energy Center.

Apr 9, 2013; St. Paul, MN, USA; Chicago Blackhawks goalie Ray Emery against the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center.

St. Paul may not have received state bonding for projects this session, but it did claim a legislative victory it's been chasing for years: the state will forgive most of the remaining $32.7 million it loaned the city to build Xcel Energy Center.

The 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs have entered the second round, and much to my dismay, all of the Lakeland's local connections have been ousted from the post-season. It was surely a wild first round in the playoffs, and while our locals may have already entered the off-season, there are still some reasons to be happy.

Apr 9, 2013; St. Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Mikael Granlund against the Chicago Blackhawks at the Xcel Energy Center.

Depending on your point of view, the Minnesota Wild had a season that either met or surpassed expectations.

The Minnesota Wild have made vast strides in their second year under coach Mike Yeo .

May 7, 2013; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Fans gather outside the Xcel Energy Center prior to game four of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center.

Dec 14, 2011; St. Paul, MN, USA; Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville during the second period against the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center.

The work begins with its own free agents. It has a decision to make on unrestricted free agent forwards Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Matt Cullen and Stephane Veilleux; unrestricted free agent defensemen Drew Bagnall, Brett Clark, Justin Falk; unrestricted free agent goaltender Niklas Backstrom; restricted free agent forwards Cody Almond, Joel Broda, Cal ... (more)

The team announced that Backstrom's operation went as planned on Thursday morning in Philadelphia.

Despite making the playoffs, something the team had not done since winning the Northwest Division in 2008, a five-game exit in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs to the President's Trophy winning Chicago Blackhawks feels unsatisfying for the Wild.

Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom underwent successful sports hernia surgery Thursday in Philadelphia and is expected to be ready for the 2013-14 season, Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher announced.

The Minnesota Wild head into the summer with a lot of questions to answer, as they reached the playoff but made an early exit despite making some big offseason deals and an important trade deadline acquisition.

I'm sure the Minnesota Wild would have loved to have had their 2013 season extended by a few weeks.

Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby, Minnesota Wild goaltender Josh Harding and Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid have been named the finalists for the Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.