History of Minnesota Wild in Timeline
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, competing in the NHL's Central Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at the Xcel Energy Center and are owned by Craig Leipold. The Wild have affiliations with the Iowa Wild in the AHL and the Iowa Heartlanders in the ECHL.
1992: Departure of the Minnesota North Stars
Following the 1992-93 season, Minnesota was without an NHL team for seven seasons after the departure of the Minnesota North Stars.
1993: Dallas Stars Visit Since Relocation
The most notable game of the year was the first visit of the Dallas Stars, who had formerly played in Minnesota as the Minnesota North Stars, since a neutral-site game in 1993.
June 25, 1997: Wild Founded
On June 25, 1997, the Minnesota Wild were founded.
June 25, 1997: Minnesota Awarded Expansion Franchise
On June 25, 1997, the NHL announced that Minnesota was awarded an expansion franchise, to begin play in the 2000–01 season.
November 20, 1997: Finalist Team Names Announced
On November 20, 1997, the six finalist team names for the new NHL franchise (Blue Ox, Freeze, Northern Lights, Voyageurs, White Bears, and Wild) were announced.
1997: Franchise Originally Owned by Bob Naegele, Jr.
In 1997, the Minnesota Wild franchise was originally owned by a limited partnership formed by former majority owner Bob Naegele, Jr. of Naegele Sports, LLC.
January 22, 1998: Team Officially Named the Wild
On January 22, 1998, the team was officially named the Wild at an unveiling at the Aldrich Arena, with the song "Born to Be Wild" by Steppenwolf playing.
April 1998: State Loan Approved for Xcel Energy Center
In April 1998, the State of Minnesota adopted legislation to loan $65 million to the City of Saint Paul to fund 50% of the estimated $130 million project costs for the Xcel Energy Center.
2000: NHL Retires Wayne Gretzky's No. 99
At the 2000 NHL All-Star Game, the NHL retired Wayne Gretzky's No. 99 for all its member teams.
2000: Inaugural Season Goal Songs
In 2000, during the Minnesota Wild's inaugural season, the team's first goal songs were "Born to Be Wild" and "Rock and Roll Part 2".
2000: Expansion Franchise to Begin Play
In 2000, it was announced Minnesota's expansion franchise would begin play in the 2000-01 season.
2000: Rotating Captaincy
In 2000, the Minnesota Wild implemented a rotating captaincy system.
2000: Marian Gaborik Drafted
In 2000, the Wild named Jacques Lemaire their first head coach and the team picked Marian Gaborik third overall in the first round of the 2000 NHL entry draft.
2000: Lemaire Resigned
Jacques Lemaire, head coach of the Wild since the team's inception in the 2000–01 season, resigned at season's end.
2001: Minnesota Wild Season
In the 2001–02 season, the Wild got off to a strong start by earning at least one point in its first seven games.
2002: Minnesota Wild playoff appearance
In the 2002–03 season, the Wild made their first-ever playoff appearance, making it to the conference finals before being swept 4–0 by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
2003: First Stanley Cup Playoff Appearance
In 2003, the Wild made their first Stanley Cup playoffs appearance, advancing to the Western Conference Finals before losing to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
2003: Wild Struggle After Holdouts
In the 2003-04 season, the Wild struggled early due to holdouts by Pascal Dupuis and Marian Gaborik, and they ultimately missed the playoffs despite a strong finish to the season.
2004: NHL Lockout and Death of Sergei Zholtok
The 2004–05 season was canceled due to an NHL lockout. Also in 2004, former Wild player Sergei Zholtok died from a heart condition during a game in Europe.
2004: "Rock and Roll Part 2" Goal Song Through 2004
Until 2004, the Minnesota Wild continued using "Rock and Roll Part 2" as a goal song, following the removal of "Born to Be Wild" after the inaugural 2000-01 season, before the lockout.
2005: Cover of "Rock and Roll Part 1" Used
After the lockout in 2005, the Minnesota Wild used a cover of "Rock and Roll Part 1" for the 2005–06 season as their goal song.
2005: Fifth Place Finish
In the 2005-06 season, Minnesota finished in fifth and last place in the Northwest Division.
2006: "Crowd Chant" by Joe Satriani Adopted as Goal Song
In 2006, shortly after its release, the Minnesota Wild changed its goal song to "Crowd Chant" by Joe Satriani.
2006: Gaborik and Rolston Set Records, Roloson Traded
In the 2005–06 season, Marian Gaborik set a new franchise record for goals in a season at 38, and Brian Rolston set a new highest point total by a Wild player in a season at 79. Dwayne Roloson was traded to the Edmonton Oilers for a first-round pick in the 2006 NHL entry draft.
January 2007: Gaborik Returns from Injury
In January 2007, All-Star winger Marian Gaborik returned from a groin injury and made an immediate impact.
December 7, 2007: Leipold Completes Sale of Nashville Predators
On December 7, 2007, Craig Leipold completed the sale of the Nashville Predators to a local ownership group. Leipold had owned the team since it was awarded to Nashville in 1997.
2007: Numerous Franchise Records broken
In the 2007–08 season, the Wild broke numerous franchise records during the 2007–08 season, including most goals and points (Marian Gaborik – 42 goals and 83 points).
January 10, 2008: Sale to Craig Leipold Announced
On January 10, 2008, it was announced that the Minnesota Wild franchise was being sold to former Nashville Predators owner Craig Leipold.
April 3, 2008: Wild Clinch Division Title
On April 3, 2008, Jacques Lemaire recorded his 500th career coaching win as the Wild clinched their first-ever Northwest Division title in a 3–1 victory over the Calgary Flames.
April 10, 2008: NHL Approves Leipold's Purchase
On April 10, 2008, the NHL's Board of Governors officially approved Craig Leipold's purchase of Minnesota Sports & Entertainment (MSE).
2008: Off-season Acquisitions
During the 2008 off-season, the Wild re-acquired Andrew Brunette from Colorado and traded for defenseman Marek Zidlicky. The Wild also signed free agents Antti Miettinen and Owen Nolan to multi-year deals.
2008: Nordy Introduced as Mascot
In 2008, "Nordy" was introduced as the official mascot of the Minnesota Wild.
2008: Won One Division Championship
In 2008, the Minnesota Wild won one division championship.
2008: Wild Fall to Ninth Place
In the 2008-09 season, the Wild fell to ninth place in the Western Conference, missing the playoffs.
2008: Mikko Koivu's Captaincy
In the 2008–09 season, Mikko Koivu had the captaincy three different times as a rotating captain.
October 20, 2009: Mikko Koivu Named Permanent Captain
On October 20, 2009, Mikko Koivu, the last rotating captain who had served three times in the 2008-09 season, became the Minnesota Wild's first permanent captain after Todd Richards became head coach.
2009: Gaborik Signs with Rangers, New GM and Coach Hired
In the 2009 off-season, Marian Gaborik signed with the New York Rangers. Chuck Fletcher was hired as general manager, and Todd Richards was selected as head coach. Martin Havlat was signed via free agency, and Mikko Koivu was named the team's first full-time captain.
2009: Permanent Captaincy Begins
Starting in 2009, the Minnesota Wild transitioned to a permanent captaincy.
2009: Season Ends in Disappointment
The 2009-10 season ended in disappointment for the Wild as they missed the playoffs.
2009: Rotating Captaincy
Until 2009, the Minnesota Wild rotated the captaincy on a monthly basis among several of its players each season.
2010: Season Ends in Disappointment
The 2010-11 season ended in disappointment for the Wild as they missed the playoffs. Mikael Granlund was selected.
2011: Brent Burns Traded
During the 2011 NHL entry draft, the Wild traded Brent Burns to the San Jose Sharks. They also traded Martin Havlat for Dany Heatley.
2011: Coaching Change
Following the 2010-11 season, the Wild fired head coach Todd Richards and hired Mike Yeo as the new head coach.
2012: Team Misses Playoffs
Despite a hot start to the season, multiple injuries to key players effectively eliminated the team from playoff contention for the fourth consecutive year.
2012: Granlund Signs and Parise Suter Sign
During the 2012 off-season, the team was able to sign top prospect Mikael Granlund to a three-year contract. Zach Parise and Ryan Suter were also signed to 13-year contracts.
January 2013: NHL Lockout Ends
The Wild's busy off-season was overshadowed by the 2012–13 NHL lockout, which ended in January 2013.
April 27, 2013: Wild reach postseason
On April 27, 2013, the Minnesota Wild clinched a playoff berth for the fourth time in franchise history with a 3–1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche.
April 2016: Prince Tribute and Goal Song Adoption
In April 2016, following the death of Minneapolis native Prince, the Minnesota Wild held a tribute at game 6 of the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Dallas Stars, adopting "Let's Go Crazy" as their goal song.
April 4, 2017: Wild honor the Minnesota North Stars
On April 4, 2017, the Minnesota Wild honored the Minnesota North Stars by wearing North Stars jerseys for warm-ups, despite the North Stars history belonging to the Dallas Stars.
2017: Last Alternate Jersey Before 2023
In 2017, prior to the unveiling of the alternate green jersey in 2023, the Minnesota Wild had last introduced an official alternate jersey.
2017: "This Is Our Ice" Tradition Unveiled
In 2017, the Minnesota Wild unveiled a new tradition called "This Is Our Ice," encouraging fans to bring water from local sources to add to the Xcel Energy Center ice.
April 23, 2018: General Manager Fletcher fired
On April 23, 2018, Minnesota Wild owner Leipold fired general manager Chuck Fletcher after nine seasons with the team.
May 21, 2018: Paul Fenton hired as general manager
On May 21, 2018, Paul Fenton was hired as the third general manager in the history of the Minnesota Wild franchise.
July 30, 2019: Fenton fired as general manager
On July 30, 2019, Paul Fenton was fired from his position as general manager of the Minnesota Wild, just 14 months after being hired.
August 21, 2019: Bill Guerin hired as general manager
On August 21, 2019, Bill Guerin was hired as the fourth general manager in the history of the Minnesota Wild franchise.
February 14, 2020: Boudreau Fired
On February 14, 2020, the Minnesota Wild fired head coach Bruce Boudreau and named Dean Evason as interim head coach.
September 21, 2021: Kaprizov Signs Contract
On September 21, 2021, Kirill Kaprizov signed a five-year, $45 million contract with the Minnesota Wild.
2021: "Shout" by The Isley Brothers Used as Goal Song
In the 2021-22 Season, the Minnesota Wild used "Shout" by The Isley Brothers as their goal song, while "Let's Go Crazy" remained the win song.
July 7, 2022: Talbot Traded to Senators
On July 7, 2022, the Minnesota Wild traded goaltender Cam Talbot to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Filip Gustavsson.
2022: "Reverse Retro" Jersey Reused
In 2022, the "Reverse Retro" jersey design, initially introduced in 2020, was reused, but with green now as the base color.
2022: Special Edition Jersey Unveiled for 2022 Winter Classic
In 2022, the Minnesota Wild unveiled a special edition jersey for the Winter Classic. This jersey was inspired by various early Minnesota hockey teams, featuring a primarily green design with a red shoulder yoke, red and wheat stripes, and the Minneapolis–Saint Paul identifier around symbols like the Minnesota state silhouette and wheat stars.
September 23, 2023: Alternate Jersey Unveiled
On September 23, 2023, the Minnesota Wild introduced an alternate green jersey, which was based on the "Reverse Retro" design from the previous season. The jersey featured a shoulder patch with a recolored "State of Hockey" logo and captaincy patches shaped like the Minnesota state outline.
2023: Top-Ten Franchise Point-Scorers as of 2023-24 Season
As of the end of the 2023–24 season, a list of the top-ten franchise point-scorers was compiled, with figures updated after each completed NHL regular season.
March 22, 2025: Information Update
The information was updated on March 22, 2025.
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