Minnesota Wild Rumors & News

TSN.ca "NHLPA Special Assistant to the Executive Director Mathieu Schneider says all competition committee items forwarded from earlier this month have been approved by the league's general managers. Hybrid icing, mandatory visors, shallower nets and video review on four-minute highsticking penalties..." June 19

Minneapolis Star Tribune "The Wild has re-signed its first restricted free agent. It is defenseman Marco Scandella, who got a two-year deal worth $2.05 million ($1.025 cap hit, 900K salary in 2013-14, $1.15 million in 2014-15). Scandella requires waivers next year, so he's got the inside track to making next year's..." June 17

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Josh Harding has been playing hockey since he was 4. So as hard as the news was when he learned he had multiple sclerosis, the thought of giving up the sport didn't cross his mind. On Friday, as part of the NHL's awards ceremony, Harding was named winner of the Bill Masterton Memorial..." June 15

NHL.com "The Minnesota Wild has re-signed one of its hard-nosed depth players. The club has inked forward Stephane Veilleux to a two-year, two-way contract. The 31-year-old skated in two playoff contests for Minnesota this season. He notched eight points (3-5=8) and 45 penalty minutes (PIM) in 33..." June 12

SportingNews.com "While the NHL, NHL Players Association, International Olympic Committee and International Ice Hockey Federation all say a deal to bring players to the 2013 Sochi Olympics will get done, there are still roadblocks, according to Sportsnet's John Shannon. Two of the big ones: the league's desire..." June 10

NHL.com "All players entering the NHL beginning next season could be required to wear a visor. The NHL's Competition Committee met Tuesday here. Among its recommendations was a proposal that would make visors mandatory for all players entering the League, starting in 2013-14. Under the proposal,..." June 05

TSN.ca "The NHL's Competition Committee has recommended the mandatory wearing of visors be grandfathered in at its meeting in Toronto on Tuesday. The use of shallower nets to be used next season as well as a hybrid icing rule to be tested in preseason were among other recommended rule changes proposed..." June 04

Pro Hockey Talk "The Minnesota Wild have been out of the playoffs for a while. But the sting seems to be lingering for forward Matt Cullen, even if the Wild were dispatched in five games in the opening round by the Chicago Blackhawks. “It was about as disappointed as I think I’ve ever been. I really felt we..." June 01

NHL.com "The 2013 NHL Awards winners will be revealed in two live television specials during the Stanley Cup Final. At 7 p.m. on the day of Game 2 of the Final, the winners of the Hart, Calder, Norris and Vezina trophies, along with the Ted Lindsay Award, will be announced as part of an hour-long show..." May 24

St. Paul Pioneer Press "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. Backstrom, however, will be a free agent. He was injured during pregame warmups for..." May 16

NHL.com "Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby, Minnesota Wild goaltender Josh Harding and Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid have been named finalists for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded to "the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance,..." May 14

Minneapolis Star Tribune "With the wound still fresh after a quick, painful exit from the postseason, the Wild’s internal evaluation commenced Friday. The organization began the process of trying to ascertain how things went so south once the calendar turned to April. And it began looking ahead to pertinent offseason..." May 11

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Thursday was turning into Friday as Wild forward Zach Parise finally stood up from his stall in the visitors' locker room at the United Center in Chicago, just a stone's throw from the Blackhawks' muted celebration down the hall. Parise, still unshowered, described the Wild's season-ending loss..." May 11

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Jason Pominville fired a bad-angle shot that caromed off Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford onto the waiting stick of Mikko Koivu out front. The maligned Wild captain had the right side of the net open. He had Crawford in a bind, an ideal scenario for Koivu to finally register a point in..." May 10

NHL.com "The National Hockey League moved closer to an agreement to send its players to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia during a meeting in Stockholm on Friday. The meeting included representatives from the NHL, National Hockey League Players' Association, International Olympic Committee,..." May 10

CSN Chicago "The chant went up through the stands moments after a big stop: “Corey, Corey, Corey…” Corey Crawford’s heard plenty from the fans over the past few seasons, although it’s probably not been as pleasant as what he heard Thursday night. “Yeah, I definitely heard it. It’s a good feeling. They’ve..." May 10

Minneapolis Star Tribune "The Wild boarded a chartered aircraft for a relatively quick flight to Chicago Midway International Airport on Wednesday afternoon. It was the first time the team gathered since blowing its chance to even the Western Conference quarterfinals at two games apiece on Tuesday night. The Wild..." May 09

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Among reasons the Blackhawks lead their playoff series 3-1 against the Minnesota Wild entering the game Thursday night, May 9, in Chicago is former Minnesota Mr. Hockey Nick Leddy from Eden Prairie. Leddy, 22, was acquired from the Wild in a 2010 trade for Cam Barker. The 6-foot former Gophers..." May 09

St. Paul Pioneer Press "When Matt Cullen won the Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2006, the Hurricanes lost their starting goalie before the team played its first road game in the playoffs. They got "spanked," Cullen said, in Games 1 and 2. The starter, Martin Gerber, was sick and had played poorly. So they turned to..." May 09

NHL.com "Minnesota Wild goaltender Josh Harding left Game 4 of his team's Western Conference Quarterfinal series against the Chicago Blackhawks with a lower-body injury. With 4:23 remaining in the first period, Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews attacked the Wild net with the puck. After going forehand to..." May 08

CSN Chicago "It wasn’t the prettiest game the Blackhawks ever played. In fact, it was pretty black and blue. But on a night when they went to the penalty box plenty, their penalty kill came up plenty big. Patrick Sharp scored twice and the Blackhawks killed off six Minnesota Wild power plays en route to a..." May 08

NHL.com "The field for the James Norris Memorial Trophy received a makeover this season. Kris Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins, P.K. Subban of the Montreal Canadians and Ryan Suter of the Minnesota Wild are this year's finalists for the trophy awarded to the defenseman that shows the "greatest..." May 07

CSN Chicago "It wasn’t surprising that the Minnesota Wild had some spark, some good energy in their first home playoff game in five seasons. What was surprising was that the Chicago Blackhawks really didn’t get close to matching them. Duncan Keith tied the game late in regulation, but Jason Zucker netted..." May 06

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Wild right wing Jason Pominville, who missed the first three games of the postseason and final two games of the regular season, has just taken the ice for today's optional practice. Don't get your hopes up yet that he is returning for Game 4. 1) He has practiced once since being injured April..." May 06

Minneapolis Star Tribune "I t’s a well-worn concept, one that Devin Setoguchi has heard and repeated dozens of times in his NHL career. In the playoffs, every shift can be the one that makes the difference in the game. He doesn’t find that daunting, not even with the Wild in a 2-0 hole in its first-round series against..." May 05

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Mike Yeo wanted more hatred, more physicality after two opening games against the Chicago Blackhawks that didn’t resemble the typical hostile playoff series. “It shouldn’t be hard for us. They’re trying to take away something from us,” Yeo said a few hours before Sunday’s Game 3 matinee. The..." May 05

CSN Chicago "Niklas Backstrom’s answers sounded tentative at best. The Minnesota Wild goalie was addressing the local media on Saturday afternoon, talking about his practice and the lower-body injury that made him a late Game 1 scratch. Backstrom is confident he’ll return. It just didn’t sound like he’s..." May 05

CSN Chicago "Michael Frolik scored twice, as did Patrick Sharp, as the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Minnesota Wild 5-2 at the United Center on Friday night. The Blackhawks take a 2-0 lead over the Wild in their Western Conference quarterfinal series, as the teams head to Minnesota for Game 3 on Sunday. As..." May 04

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Zach Parise stopped next to Josh Harding a few minutes before the puck dropped in the Wild's first playoff game in five years, and only a few minutes after Harding learned he would be starting. Parise wanted to share a few words with the goalie before his first start since January. "It's..." May 02

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Whether he wants to be or not — and he doesn’t — Josh Harding continued to be a major story around hockey Wednesday, one day after being called upon at the last second to play goalie for the Wild in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Harding, making his first career playoff start and first NHL..." May 02

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Scoreboards don’t grade on a curve. We can. We can recognize that while Josh Harding will go down as the losing goaltender in the Wild’s 2-1 loss to Chicago at the United Center on Tuesday night, he was the most remarkable player on the ice. Three months since his last NHL start, at the..." May 01

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Until the point at which his nifty forehand-backhand move emerged from absolutely nowhere and saved Game 1 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series for the Blackhawks, Bryan Bickell's central contribution to the night was a seismic hit along the boards that rendered a Wild player about as..." May 01

CSN Chicago "Bryan Bickell, Andrew Shaw and Viktor Stalberg have developed a nice little rapport this season. The Blackhawks’ third line has provided energy, provided some solid defense and provided some good minute-soaking play. On Tuesday, they provided the game-winner. Viktor Stalberg had the setup..." May 01

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Wild forward Jason Pominville, who missed the last two games of the regular season with a head injury, was back in practice this morning and back on his line with Kyle Brodziak and Pierre-Marc Bouchard. Coach Mike Yeo didn't say definitively if he will be available for Game 1, ... but he's..." April 29

NHL.com "The 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs will open Tuesday in Chicago with a matchup between the Presidents' Trophy-winning Chicago Blackhawks and the Minnesota Wild, who were the last team to clinch a playoff berth. The NHL released the playoff schedule Sunday night and it includes three Game 1s on..." April 29

St. Paul Pioneer Press "The music in the visiting locker room was thumping. Louder and louder it grew behind the control of Devin Setoguchi. The celebration was just getting warmed up. Pierre-Marc Bouchard, the man who has played more games in a Wild sweater than any other active player, was trying to describe..." April 28

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Two hours before Saturday night’s regular-season finale, Chuck Fletcher sat alone in an empty section of a darkened lower bowl inside Pepsi Center for more than 30 minutes. The Wild general manager just stared at the ice. Stared and stared and stared. It was a stunning, powerful scene. Who..." April 28

Fox Sports North "Facing a nearly must-win situation in the regular-season finale Saturday night, the Minnesota Wild recalled forwards Jason Zucker and Stephane Veilleux from the Houston Aeros. Zucker, 21, and Veilleux, 31, will join the team for its final game in Denver against the Colorado Avalanche, where..." April 27

NHL.com "Breaking down playoff scenarios this time of year sometimes can get confusing. But for the Minnesota Wild, who haven't been to the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2008, getting there this season can't be any simpler: Win on Friday against the Edmonton Oilers and they're in. History would indicate..." April 27

NHL.com "The team holding the top pick in the 2013 NHL Draft will need to consider one important question prior to stepping to the podium to announce its selection on June 30 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. What do we need right now? Is it a poised and polished minute-munching, two-way..." April 24

NHL.com "Los Angeles Kings forward Dustin Brown faces a disciplinary hearing Wednesday with the NHL Department of Player Safety for an incident that occurred during a game Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. The following grounds for the proposed supplemental discipline are being..." April 24

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Minnesota scored two first-period goals 16 seconds apart and hung on for a much-needed win over the defending Stanley Cup champions Tuesday night, April 23, at the Xcel Energy Center. Charlie Coyle one-timed a shot from in front of the net for the first goal. Sixteen seconds later, Cal..." April 24

NHL.com "In celebration of Earth Day, NHL Green has teamed up with Sterling Planet, the United States' leading retail provider of environmental assets for corporate, utility and government clients, to attempt to mitigate the environmental impact of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. For the second..." April 22

NHL.com "The playoffs apparently can't come soon enough for the surging San Jose Sharks. The Sharks routed the Minnesota Wild 6-1 on Thursday night at HP Pavilion as they took another step forward in their playoff push. Logan Couture and Martin Havlat each scored two goals, Raffi Torres had his first..." April 19