Minnesota Wild Finally Addresses a Decade of Offensive Woes

For years, my biggest criticism of the Minnesota Wild ownership has been their abject failure to provide the team with offense.  Ownership seemed content to milk the season ticket holders while putting a sub-par team on the ice season after season.  However, after over a decade of being at or near the bottom in scoring, Minnesota hockey fans have had enough.  Season ticket sales have lagged.  The once-packed Xcel Center started showing a shocking number of open seats.  The team needed to improve and win back the fans, or spiral away to local indifference and irrelevance. 

Ownership wised up. 

With the recent signing of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter (both of them!  I still can't believe it) the Minnesota Wild pulled off the biggest hockey acquisition since the North Stars drafted Mike Modano. 

Since this franchise's inception, its biggest trouble has been offense.  Save for one player, Marion Gaborik, the Wild have never had a player that was a consistent offensive threat.  They never had a player that could be found among the league leaders list for scoring.  They had nobody they could count on to put the biscuit in the basket. 

Finally, all of that has been addressed.  And then some.  Both players are going to make those around them better, and I look for guys like Heatley, Bouchard (if he can stay healthy), and Setoguchi to make big strides forward. 

I haven't been this optimistic since the start of the 2008 season.  Go Wild!