What Are the Odds of Minnesota Wild in the Upcoming NHL Season?
Not many teams can brag about exceeding expectations on a yearly basis, but the Minnesota Wild have proven that they’re not like every other NHL team.
Often expected to be a bottom-feeder, the Wild have shown resiliency and a lot of teeth to get the job done and make the playoffs in consecutive seasons. Even though they are a reasonably recent franchise, if you click here you can find some major talent that have passed through the team’s ranks.
However, they haven’t been able to keep their foot on the gas and get the job done when it matters the most, going home empty-handed and leaving the feeling that they’re just not ready to compete at the highest level yet.
That’s why the Wild have made it a point of emphasis to silence their doubters once and for all this season. So, even though they don’t have the same star power as other powerhouses in the National Hockey League, they believe their balanced roster can take them to great lengths and is good enough to take them to the promised land.
Taking Another Step
The Wild, as impressive as they were, were often considered pushovers. They looked great vs. not-so-good teams, then failed to take that leap when things got complicated, and they faced a tougher rival. This time, coach Dean Evason wants to send the rest of the league a message, and that no one will bully the 2022-23 Minnesota Wild:
“The obvious thing will be how aggressive we’re going to be,” Evason told The Athletic. “That’ll be the different factor. Both on our forecheck and (the opposing) neutral-zone entry, we’re going to be way more aggressive and we’re also going to be way more aggressive in the zone to put some heat on the team.”
Needless to say, the Wild will bank on their up-and-coming star Kirill Kaprizov to take another leap and take them the distance once and for all. But whether that’ll be enough to get the job done remains to be seen. With that in mind, let’s address their odds in the upcoming NHL season.
To Make The Playoffs
We’ve got some great news for the fans. According to most bookies, there’s just no way the Minnesota Wild don’t clinch a playoff berth again this season. They have -500 odds of making the playoffs and +360 odds of missing the postseason.
That’s not much of a surprise right now, considering they don’t play in a tough division nor have a complicated schedule, at least early in the year. Also, some expect the front office to be quite aggressive in their attempts to improve the roster, so don’t sleep on them and the moves they might make to finally solve those Power-Play woes once and for all.
To Win Their Division
Notably, it seems like oddsmakers are finally giving the Wild some credit. They have the second-highest odds to run away with the NHL Central Division, sitting at a whopping +330. Unsurprisingly, they trail the reigning Stanley Cup champions, Colorado Avalanche, perhaps the most stacked and overpowered team in the NHL.
But as good and dominant as the Avalanche have been over the past couple of years — even against the Wild — it’s not like they don’t have a legit shot to shock the world and overtake them this season. If anything, the rest of their division looks quite beatable, with the Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets, Arizona Cardinals, and Chicago Blackhawks all looking quite sluggish ahead of his season.
To Win Their Conference
This is where things get a little more complicated for the Wild. Some believe they’re still not as good as some of the other powerhouses in the Western Conference, and they head into the 2022/23 campaign with the fourth-highest odds to win the Conference at +700.
Once again, the Colorado Avalanche top the list, followed by the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. These teams are more stacked, especially offensively, so keeping up with them will be a tough task, even if they top their projection of being a 100-point team this season. Once again, they’ll need to prove that they can beat winning teams and not just bottom-feeders.
To Win The Stanley Cup
This is even less of a shock, but oddsmakers don’t like the Minnesota Wild’s chances of winning their very-first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Right now, they have the eighth-highest odds to take the trophy home at +1700, trailing the Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning, Edmonton Oilers, and Calgary Flames.
Clearly, oddsmakers aren’t sold on the Wild’s continuous improvement during the first two years of the Kirill Kaprizov era. They believe they’re a lock to make the playoffs, and that could even go the distance and finally get past the first round, but from that to being Stanley Cup material, that’s a wholly different story.