ST. PAUL, Minn. — When the Minnesota Wild changed general managers during the
True to Leipold's proclamation, new GM Paul Fenton made only minor changes during his first summer in charge. He brought back the same core of players that has made six straight playoff appearances while winning just two
Limiting improvement to fiddling with the fourth line and increasing depth on
On the first day of training camp earlier this month, coach Bruce Boudreau recounted a brief conversation with
"He says if we don't get injured, then we're going to be really good," Boudreau said. "I love it when leaders say those things. I don't think, with our relationship, that he would be just saying it for the sake of saying it."
Staal is one of the few players the Wild, who finished in third place in the Central Division with 101 points and lost in five games to Winnipeg, would be elated about if they matched their 2017-18 production. Staal, who was one of only four players to skate in all 82 regular-season games, led the team with 42 goals, 76 points and 11 power-play goals. At age 33, his goal total was the second-most of his 14 seasons in the NHL .
The spotlight will instead be on left wing Zach Parise and
If the Wild extend their
"I think there's a little bit of extra hunger around the room right now, just with the way things finished last year," Parise said. "I think we, as a group, are looking to redeem ourselves a little bit."
Here are some other key angles to the start of the season:
ZACH'S BACK: Parise missed the first 39 games because of a back problem that required surgery, and his delayed start was predictably slow. He scored 12 goals in his last 18 games of the regular season, though, and scored in each of the first three playoff games until being knocked out of action again by a broken sternum .
"He looks so much quicker and stronger than he has at the beginning of the last two years," Boudreau said.
KUNIN COMING ALONG: After surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee in April,
"I want to be out there helping my team, but you've got to think long term, your health for a long career," Kunin said.
DEPTH ON D: When Suter went down with a career-threatening right ankle injury right before the playoffs last spring,
"We do have similar games. A little bit grittier and more defensive," Seeler said.
NEW DIGS: The Wild now have their own practice facility, after years of driving to various metro-area rinks on days when Xcel Energy Center was booked. The TRIA Rink at Treasure Island Center is just a half-mile away, with the new ice on the fifth floor of an old department store building. Players now have the benefit of upgraded training equipment like state-of-the-art cold tubs and underwater treadmills.
"I feel like when guys see that, it's kind of like, 'OK, if they're not cutting corners, we're not cutting corners either,'" Boudreau said.
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Dave Campbell, The Associated Press