Last week, I put together my Post-'91 All-Time Minnesota Twins team. This week, I reveal my All-Time Minnesota Wild Team!
1ST LINE FORWARDS:
LW--Marian Gaborik: Maybe the only 'pure' goal scorer this franchise has ever had.
C--Pavol Demitra: Demitra with Gaborik in 2006 was the first time the Wild had a legit 1st line. It was fun to watch Pavol passing the puck to Marian.
RW--Brian Rolston: Scored 34, 31 and 31 goals in his 3 seasons with the Wild. And he once scored on a slapshot in a shootout.
2ND LINE FORWARDS:
LW--Andrew Brunette: 2 stints with the Wild and one of the most underrated players I've seen. Consistently scored and was consistently in the lineup.
C--Mikko Koivu: Franchise leader in Assists, Points, Plus-Minus, Shots and Scowls.
RW--Zach Parise: Has taken a lot of heat because of his contract and injuries, but he is 3rd in franchise history in goals and the team has been in the playoffs every year of his Wild career.
3RD LINE FORWARDS:
LW--Mikael Granlund: I always wonder how many points he would put up if he played with a sniper.
C--Eric Staal: If he keeps repeating the 42-goal season he had in 2017-18, he will move up this line chart quickly!
RW--Pierre-Marc Bouchard: 5th in franchise history in goals, 2nd in assists, 1st in spin-o-ramas.
4TH LINE FORWARDS:
LW--Jason Zucker: Already 7th in franchise history in Goals after scoring 33 last season.
C--Wes Walz: Fiercely competitive, great penalty killer, shutdown center and man could he skate.
RW--Guillaume Latendresse: His 25 goals in 55 games in 2009-10 was one of the best runs I've seen. Too bad injuries kept us from seeing if that season was a trend or mirage.
1ST LINE DEFENSEMEN:
LD--Ryan Suter: Has been in the Top 10 for the Norris Trophy in 5 of his 6 seasons.
RD--Brent Burns: Sadly Burns joins a long list of Minnesota athletes that excelled AFTER leaving Minnesota.
2ND LINE DEFENSEMEN:
LD--Willie Mitchell: Was in charge of shutting down Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Marcus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi, and he did.
RD--Jared Spurgeon: Another vastly underrated player. Please don't trade him Mr. Fenton.
3RD LINE DEFENSEMEN:
LD--Nick Schultz: Was never spectacular but was consistently solid.
RD--Marek Zidlicky: Had a nice shot from the point on the PP and was elite in the shootout.
GOALIES:
1G--Dwayne Roloson: Similar numbers to Dubnyk but I give him the edge based on his playoff performances give him the edge. And I like saying "Rolie the Goalie".
2G--Devan Dubnyk: Maybe the best acquisition in Wild history?
HONORABLE MENTION:
Martin Havlat, Pascal Dupuis, Antii Laaksonen, Nino Neiderreiter, Owen Nolan, Filip Kuba, Brad Bombardir, Matt Dumba, Jonas Brodin, Niklas Backstrom, Manny Fernandez