The Minnesota Wild entered last summer with a few glaring needs. One was upgrading their coach, which they did by securing Bruce Boudreau’s services. Another was a center to take some pressure off Mikko Koivu and move players like Mikael Granlund to the wing. The Wild succeeded by getting a massive bargain on Eric Staal.
Their third-biggest need? Re-modeling their fourth line. They went about this by cleaning house of the players they employed in that role last season. Justin Fontaine, Jarret Stoll, Chris Porter, and David Jones didn’t appear to even get consideration for a return to St.