Minnesota Wild: 11 Reasons the Wild Can Take a Run at the Stanley Cup

The Minnesota Wild haven't qualified for the playoffs in three seasons and they haven't won a playoff series since 2003.

Vut plenty off offseason shakeups have given the Wild a new look for the 2011-2012 season.

Here are 11 reasons the Wild should not only make the playoffs this year, but make some noise once they get there.

Offseason Moves Have Strengthened the Roster

Minnesota Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher has never been afraid to juggle his roster.

Though some deals haven't worked out—most notably trading local boy Nick Leddy for since-released Cam Barker—most Wild fans are ecstatic about both the changes from last year's team that failed to make the playoffs for the third straight season.

The "State of Hockey" Is Dying for a Playoff Run

Even with the Wild's mediocre playoff history, the team sold out every game for over a decade.

Minnesota, the "State of Hockey," has an ardent, passionate fan base that is clearly ready for a winning team.

With the Twins and Vikings hitting rock bottom and the Timberwolves being locked out, the Minnesota sports fan is ready to throw all their support to the new-look Wild.

New Wild Coach Mike Yeo Is a Winner

New Minnesota head coach Mike Yeo certainly has winning in his background.

As a player in 1999, Yeo captained the Houston Aeros to the IHL's Turner Cup Championship. As an assistant coach, Yeo helped lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to the 2009 Stanley Cup.

Last season, Yeo took the Wild's top minor league affiliate, the Aeros, from worst to first, winning the Western Conference Championship in the AHL.

The Wild Have Added Offensive Firepower

In a 10-day stretch this past summer, the Wild shook up the roster and added some much needed offensive firepower.

First, Minnesota traded defenseman Brent Burns to the San Jose Sharks for speedy winger Devin Setoguchi. They followed that up with another deal with the Sharks, dealing the under-performing Martin Havlat for high-scoring winger Dany Heatley.

Heatley (a six-time 35-goal scorer) and Setoguchi add a much needed mix of speed and scoring to the Wild lineup.

The NHL Salary Cap Has Evened the Ice Sheet

The post-lockout salary cap has really evened the field in the NHL.

In the six years since the lockout, eight different teams in the East and seven in the West have reached the conference finals.

In short, it's much tougher to field a dominant team and the Wild are poised to take their turn.

Wild Have Right Mix of Youth and Veterans

The Wild have a nice blend of youth and veterans, with five regulars over the age of 30, led by 34-year-old Minnesota native Matt Cullen, and nine skaters under 25 who will see steady ice time.

Brett Bulmer (pictured above), 19, was the big surprise in training camp and made the club, perhaps two years ahead of his time table. 

Might Makes Right

It's long been said that the Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy in sports to win.

The NHL playoffs are a months-long battle of attrition and as the Bruins showed last summer, the bigger and tougher you are, the more likely you are to be hoisting the Cup at the end of it all.

The Wild, with 12 regulars 6'2" or taller and 10 weighing over 210 pounds, are physically built for the playoff grind.

The Wild Have Quick, Mobile Defensemen

In today's NHL, you can't win without quick, mobile defensemen who skate and pass their way out of the defensive zone and jump into the play and add scoring in the offensive zone.

The Wild might have traded away their best offensive defenseman in Brent Burns, but new to the roster this year are dynamic youngsters Jared Spurgeon (above) and Marco Scandella, who will join the defensive ranks with Marek Zidlicky and Greg Zanon, giving the Wild plenty of blue line depth.

Mikko Koivu Was Made for Playoff Hockey

Wild captain Mikko Koivu has all the "right stuff."

Look at the list of captains from all the Stanley Cup winners since the lockout: Brind'Amour, Niedermayer, Lidstrom, Crosby, Toews and Chara. Along with amazing talent, those six have all the intangibles any team could ask for: grit, determination, fire and pride.

Koivu has an excess of all of those traits.

Great Goalies Win Stanley Cups

You can't win a Stanley Cup without a great goaltender, or at least without a goaltender who's capable of putting together a prolonged hot streak: Tim Thomas, Antti Neimi, Marc-Andre Fleury, etc.

In Nicklas Backstrom, the Wild have one of the top goalies in the NHL and a player who is capable of carrying the team on his back for long stretches. Josh Harding also provides the Wild with one of the better backups in the league. 

Nine Different Teams Have Won the Last 10 Stanley Cups

Wild fans can find solace in that there are no more dynasties in the NHL.

Several teams seem to have permanent reservations at the playoff table, but the Stanley Cup is certainly being shared around the league.

Nine different teams have raised the Cup in the last decade.

As the long grind of the NHL season takes off, the Wild are perfectly legitimate in thinking: "Why not us?"