The Minnesota Wild will start their lockout-delayed season against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, Jan. 19, at the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul, according to the Pioneer Press. The Star Tribune has the schedule for the rest of the season.
On Saturday night, WCCO reported that the NHL and players’ association signed a memorandum of understanding, officially ending the lockout. There was a technical delay since the tentative agreement was struck. NHL players had voted to ratify the collective bargaining agreement, but until a memorandum of understanding was signed, the locked was not officially over.
Sunday will be the first practice under Coach Mike Yeo and his coaching staff for new Wild players, including Zach Parise, defenseman Ryan Suter, forwards Mikael Granlund, Zenon Konopka, Torrey Mitchell and Jake Dowell.
Minnesota’s six-day training camp opens with 26 skaters, including three who joined the group Saturday: defensemen Mathew Dumba and Steve Kampfer, and forward Nick Palmieri.
Hopes are high for the team, and there should be lots of interest in the intrasquad scrimmage expected Monday at the X. The team hopes to arrange a full scrimmage against the Aeros later in the week that would likely be open to the public. Single-game Wild tickets are expected to go on sale at 8 a.m. Wednesday.
