If there are any question about what this year’s goals are for the Wild, general manager Bill Guerin made it clear in a clip that has gone viral.
In the latest episode of Beyond Our Ice,Guerin addressed his team on the first day of training camp. After asking if they knew what this season was all about, captain Jared Spurgeon took a crack at the answer: “Hard work and having fun.”
“No, f*** that,” Guerin replied. “This is about f***ing winning.”
Guerin’s comments ring true after the Wild exceeded expectations and finished third in the West Division and took the Vegas Golden Knights to seven games in the Stanley Cup quarterfinal series.
But this year has a different ring to it. With the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, the Wild will have to lean on younger players to navigate the dead cap space that will plague the team for the next several seasons.
That leaves an impressionable locker room for Guerin to make his mark. So far, it seems like fans and commentators are buying in.
The best part about going to Wild games now is seeing the amount of fans wearing jerseys of players no longer with the team. The tendency in this town is to keep guys around and Bill Guerin's desire to break up that team is a breath of fresh air.
— Judd Zulgad (@jzulgad) October 8, 2021
https://twitter.com/10ktakes_/status/1446338871474671637
The Wild open the season Oct. 15 with a trip to Anaheim.
