There is a line in the Minnesota Wild’s “State of Hockey” anthem that reads “We will fight to the end, we will stand and defend.” But while that line brings comfort to the 18,000 that will walk out of the Xcel Energy Center during the Wild’s season finale on Wednesday night, it may also be the reason they don’t have the No. 1 pick in next year’s NHL Draft.
With two games to go, the Wild have 85 points and own the 12th-worst record in the NHL. While a pair of wins could move them further down the draft order, they can’t finish any higher than 12th as the Buffalo Sabers have 82 points with one game to play.
This is a problem in the NHL’s Draft Lottery because a team can only move up a maximum of 10 spots. So while the Wild’s combination of ping-pong balls could still be drawn first, the best they can currently do is get the second overall pick.
The second overall pick in this year’s draft isn’t a bad door prize as they could select, Russian forward Ivan Demidov or Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levshunov, but it might be frustrating for fans considering how close the Wild were in the draft process a few months ago.
The Wild started the season 5-10-4 under Dean Evason but rebounded to win 11 of their first 15 games under John Hynes. When the Wild lost 11 of their next 16 games to close the first half, Minnesota had the sixth-best odds (7.5%) to win the No. 1 overall pick heading into the All-Star break on Jan. 27.
Minnesota was revitalized after a midseason trip to Turks and Caicos and won 12 of their next 18 games to get back into the playoff picture, only to fade down the stretch by losing eight of 13 games.
The back-and-forth nature was maddening for Wild fans, who saw Minnesota pick up wins at Vegas and at home against the Pacific-leading Vancouver Canucks but get flatlined with an 0-10-1 record against top Central Division teams Colorado, Dallas and Winnipeg.
The Wild’s hard luck also has them missing out on a generational prospect as Boston University’s Macklin Celebrini is projected to be the first pick in the draft. Celebrini has been front and center in the minds of Minnesotans in recent weeks, leading the Terriers to a 6-3 victory over the Gophers in Sioux Falls on Mar. 30 and winning the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in college hockey during the Frozen Four in St. Paul this weekend.
But while Celebrini has showcased his skills in the State of Hockey for the past week, there’s a chance he could stay there for a while as the Chicago Blackhawks hold the league’s second-worst record and a 13.5% chance to win the No. 1 overall pick.
This outcome would hit way too close to home for Wild fans who could watch Celebrini and last year’s No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard do for Chicago what Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews did through the 2010s.
But this is no concern to the Wild, who remained hellbent on reaching the playoffs. It’s why the Wild have been a middling franchise since entering the NHL in 2000 and haven’t advanced past the first round of the playoffs since 2015.
While there are some foundational pieces such as Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy, and some young talent such as Brock Faber and Marco Rossi, the Wild continue to rely on aging veterans who were not only called out by Hynes after Minnesota’s 7-2 loss to the Golden Knights on Friday night but are locked into long-term contracts with no-trade or no movement clauses.
John Hynes had some thoughts after the loss to Vegas. #mnwild pic.twitter.com/22TnCyJaTL
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) April 14, 2024
It keeps the status quo on ice in Minnesota, leaving fans to hear the same tired refrain as they exit St. Paul for the season on Wednesday night.
