Minnesota Wild: Does Their Fanbase Deserve Better?

In Minnesota, hockey reigns supreme.

Affectionately called the "State of Hockey," the state boasts a high school state hockey tournament that rivals attendance figures for major sporting events in other states.

Yet, somehow in all of this there is one missing piece: a winning NHL franchise.

The Minnesota Wild have not made the playoffs since 2007-2008, a season in which they won the Northwest Division. They were quickly bounced from the playoffs by the Colorado Avalanche, who were second in the Northwest Division that year.

Since playoff hockey has been in Minnesota there have been two coaching changes and a new general manager brought aboard. The new GM brought hope with him. This was a man that helped lay the groundwork for the Anaheim Ducks from 2002-2006, and they then went on to win the Stanley Cup in 2007.

He also helped build the Pittsburgh Penguins, who won a Stanley Cup in 2009. When he was hired there was a sense that the Wild would finally take their rightful place among the NHL elite. This was finally going to be a team that would make the "State of Hockey" proud.

But three years in, there is no sign of things getting better. The free agent signings haven't been enough and the trades have been disappointing, to say the least. Fletcher constantly talks of not emptying the cupboards to get a top-tier scorer for the Wild, yet he also isn't willing to trade away a top-six forward to get a high enough draft pick to truly restock the cupboard.

Moreover, the one good thing that Fletcher has done is bring in young defensemen. The only problem, though, is that it is all he has done. Now the Wild face a problem in that there are too many young defensemen who need an opportunity to prove themselves. Or they need to be traded, something Fletcher isn't willing to do.

The same hope that came to town with Chuck Fletcher has turned into despair and unless he does something big in the upcoming offseason to show that he has this franchise on the right path, he should be relieved of his job.