# 2001–02 Minnesota Wild season

The 2001–02 Minnesota Wild season was the team's second season of operation in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wild missed the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second straight season, finishing last in the Northwest Division.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Northwest Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 2 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 45 | 28 | 8 | 1 | 212 | 169 | 99 |
| 2 | 8 | Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 42 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 254 | 211 | 94 |
| 3 | 9 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 38 | 28 | 12 | 4 | 205 | 182 | 92 |
| 4 | 11 | Calgary Flames | 82 | 32 | 35 | 12 | 3 | 201 | 220 | 79 |
| 5 | 12 | Minnesota Wild | 82 | 26 | 35 | 12 | 9 | 195 | 238 | 73 |
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
Western Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – Detroit Red Wings | CEN | 82 | 51 | 17 | 10 | 4 | 251 | 187 | 116 |
| 2 | y – Colorado Avalanche | NW | 82 | 45 | 28 | 8 | 1 | 212 | 169 | 99 |
| 3 | y – San Jose Sharks | PAC | 82 | 44 | 27 | 8 | 3 | 248 | 199 | 99 |
| 4 | St. Louis Blues | CEN | 82 | 43 | 27 | 8 | 4 | 227 | 188 | 98 |
| 5 | Chicago Blackhawks | CEN | 82 | 41 | 27 | 13 | 1 | 216 | 207 | 96 |
| 6 | Phoenix Coyotes | PAC | 82 | 40 | 27 | 9 | 6 | 228 | 210 | 95 |
| 7 | Los Angeles Kings | PAC | 82 | 40 | 27 | 11 | 4 | 214 | 190 | 95 |
| 8 | Vancouver Canucks | NW | 82 | 42 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 254 | 211 | 94 |
| 8.5 |||||||||||
| 9 | Edmonton Oilers | NW | 82 | 38 | 28 | 12 | 4 | 205 | 182 | 92 |
| 10 | Dallas Stars | PAC | 82 | 36 | 28 | 13 | 5 | 215 | 213 | 90 |
| 11 | Calgary Flames | NW | 82 | 32 | 35 | 12 | 3 | 201 | 220 | 79 |
| 12 | Minnesota Wild | NW | 82 | 26 | 35 | 12 | 9 | 195 | 238 | 73 |
| 13 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PAC | 82 | 29 | 42 | 8 | 3 | 175 | 198 | 69 |
| 14 | Nashville Predators | CEN | 82 | 28 | 41 | 13 | 0 | 196 | 230 | 69 |
| 15 | Columbus Blue Jackets | CEN | 82 | 22 | 47 | 8 | 5 | 164 | 255 | 57 |
Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific, NW – Northwest
bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy; y – Won division

## Schedule and results

2001–02 regular season :
October: 4–3–3–1 (home: 2–2–2–1; road: 2–1–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1TOctober 6, 20010–0 OT@ San Jose Sharks (2001–02)0–0–1–0Recap
2WOctober 7, 20014–3@ Los Angeles Kings (2001–02)1–0–1–0Recap
3WOctober 10, 20012–1Boston Bruins (2001–02)2–0–1–0Recap
4WOctober 12, 20016–4Chicago Blackhawks (2001–02)3–0–1–0Recap
5TOctober 14, 20013–3 OTEdmonton Oilers (2001–02)3–0–2–0Recap
6TOctober 16, 20013–3 OTSan Jose Sharks (2001–02)3–0–3–0Recap
7OTLOctober 19, 20012–3 OTSt. Louis Blues (2001–02)3–0–3–1Recap
8LOctober 24, 20013–7Carolina Hurricanes (2001–02)3–1–3–1Recap
9LOctober 27, 20012–4@ Calgary Flames (2001–02)3–2–3–1Recap
10WOctober 30, 20014–2@ Nashville Predators (2001–02)4–2–3–1Recap
11LOctober 31, 20014–6Nashville Predators (2001–02)4–3–3–1Recap :
November: 7–6–1–1 (home: 5–3–1–0; road: 2–3–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
12WNovember 2, 20014–2Colorado Avalanche (2001–02)5–3–3–1Recap
13LNovember 4, 20010–2Edmonton Oilers (2001–02)5–4–3–1Recap
14LNovember 6, 20011–3@ New York Rangers (2001–02)5–5–3–1Recap
15WNovember 8, 20015–3@ Boston Bruins (2001–02)6–5–3–1Recap
16LNovember 11, 20010–5Vancouver Canucks (2001–02)6–6–3–1Recap
17WNovember 13, 20014–2Atlanta Thrashers (2001–02)7–6–3–1Recap
18LNovember 14, 20010–1@ Colorado Avalanche (2001–02)7–7–3–1Recap
19LNovember 16, 20013–8@ Detroit Red Wings (2001–02)7–8–3–1Recap
20TNovember 18, 20012–2 OTLos Angeles Kings (2001–02)7–8–4–1Recap
21OTLNovember 20, 20011–2 OT@ Phoenix Coyotes (2001–02)7–8–4–2Recap
22WNovember 21, 20012–0@ San Jose Sharks (2001–02)8–8–4–2Recap
23WNovember 23, 20015–2Phoenix Coyotes (2001–02)9–8–4–2Recap
24LNovember 25, 20013–4Dallas Stars (2001–02)9–9–4–2Recap
25WNovember 27, 20012–1Vancouver Canucks (2001–02)10–9–4–2Recap
26WNovember 29, 20016–0Florida Panthers (2001–02)11–9–4–2Recap :
December: 2–8–2–1 (home: 0–1–2–1; road: 2–7–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
27TDecember 2, 20014–4 OTSt. Louis Blues (2001–02)11–9–5–2Recap
28LDecember 5, 20012–4@ Chicago Blackhawks (2001–02)11–10–5–2Recap
29LDecember 8, 20011–5@ Philadelphia Flyers (2001–02)11–11–5–2Recap
30LDecember 10, 20010–4@ Montreal Canadiens (2001–02)11–12–5–2Recap
31WDecember 14, 20015–2@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2001–02)12–12–5–2Recap
32OTLDecember 16, 20012–3 OTColorado Avalanche (2001–02)12–12–5–3Recap
33LDecember 18, 20011–5Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2001–02)12–13–5–3Recap
34WDecember 22, 20012–1@ Vancouver Canucks (2001–02)13–13–5–3Recap
35LDecember 23, 20013–6@ Colorado Avalanche (2001–02)13–14–5–3Recap
36TDecember 26, 20013–3 OTDetroit Red Wings (2001–02)13–14–6–3Recap
37LDecember 28, 20012–3@ Edmonton Oilers (2001–02)13–15–6–3Recap
38LDecember 29, 20013–4@ Calgary Flames (2001–02)13–16–6–3Recap
39LDecember 31, 20012–4@ Detroit Red Wings (2001–02)13–17–6–3Recap :
January: 4–6–3–2 (home: 3–3–2–1; road: 1–3–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
40WJanuary 2, 20022–0Tampa Bay Lightning (2001–02)14–17–6–3Recap
41WJanuary 4, 20022–1Nashville Predators (2001–02)15–17–6–3Recap
42LJanuary 6, 20021–4Buffalo Sabres (2001–02)15–18–6–3Recap
43WJanuary 8, 20024–2Montreal Canadiens (2001–02)16–18–6–3Recap
44TJanuary 10, 20022–2 OT@ Nashville Predators (2001–02)16–18–7–3Recap
45TJanuary 11, 20022–2 OTMighty Ducks of Anaheim (2001–02)16–18–8–3Recap
46LJanuary 13, 20021–3Dallas Stars (2001–02)16–19–8–3Recap
47LJanuary 15, 20020–2@ Carolina Hurricanes (2001–02)16–20–8–3Recap
48WJanuary 18, 20023–1@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2001–02)17–20–8–3Recap
49LJanuary 19, 20021–4@ Ottawa Senators (2001–02)17–21–8–3Recap
50OTLJanuary 23, 20022–3 OT@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2001–02)17–21–8–4Recap
51LJanuary 24, 20021–4@ Los Angeles Kings (2001–02)17–22–8–4Recap
52TJanuary 26, 20022–2 OTNew Jersey Devils (2001–02)17–22–9–4Recap
53OTLJanuary 28, 20022–3 OTCalgary Flames (2001–02)17–22–9–5Recap
54LJanuary 30, 20020–2Los Angeles Kings (2001–02)17–23–9–5Recap :
February: 2–4–1–0 (home: 1–2–0–0; road: 1–2–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
55LFebruary 5, 20021–3@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2001–02)17–24–9–5Recap
56LFebruary 6, 20021–2@ Washington Capitals (2001–02)17–25–9–5Recap
57LFebruary 8, 20020–6Colorado Avalanche (2001–02)17–26–9–5Recap
58WFebruary 10, 20024–3New York Islanders (2001–02)18–26–9–5Recap
59TFebruary 12, 20023–3 OT@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2001–02)18–26–10–5Recap
60LFebruary 13, 20020–2Detroit Red Wings (2001–02)18–27–10–5Recap
61WFebruary 27, 20025–3@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2001–02)19–27–10–5Recap :
March: 6–5–1–2 (home: 2–2–1–2; road: 4–3–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
62LMarch 2, 20023–6@ Vancouver Canucks (2001–02)19–28–10–5Recap
63OTLMarch 5, 20022–3 OTNew York Rangers (2001–02)19–28–10–6Recap
64WMarch 7, 20023–0@ St. Louis Blues (2001–02)20–28–10–6Recap
65WMarch 8, 20025–3@ Dallas Stars (2001–02)21–28–10–6Recap
66WMarch 10, 20025–0Columbus Blue Jackets (2001–02)22–28–10–6Recap
67OTLMarch 12, 20023–4 OTOttawa Senators (2001–02)22–28–10–7Recap
68TMarch 17, 20022–2 OTPhoenix Coyotes (2001–02)22–28–11–7Recap
69WMarch 18, 20024–2Calgary Flames (2001–02)23–28–11–7Recap
70LMarch 20, 20021–3Columbus Blue Jackets (2001–02)23–29–11–7Recap
71LMarch 23, 20021–2@ New York Islanders (2001–02)23–30–11–7Recap
72WMarch 26, 20022–1@ St. Louis Blues (2001–02)24–30–11–7Recap
73WMarch 27, 20024–2@ Atlanta Thrashers (2001–02)25–30–11–7Recap
74LMarch 29, 20021–3Chicago Blackhawks (2001–02)25–31–11–7Recap
75LMarch 31, 20021–2@ Chicago Blackhawks (2001–02)25–32–11–7Recap :
April: 1–3–1–2 (home: 1–1–0–0; road: 0–2–1–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
76OTLApril 2, 20021–2 OT@ Edmonton Oilers (2001–02)25–32–11–8Recap
77LApril 4, 20023–4@ Calgary Flames (2001–02)25–33–11–8Recap
78OTLApril 5, 20024–5 OT@ Vancouver Canucks (2001–02)25–33–11–9Recap
79WApril 8, 20023–1San Jose Sharks (2001–02)26–33–11–9Recap
80TApril 10, 20024–4 OT@ Dallas Stars (2001–02)26–33–12–9Recap
81LApril 12, 20021–7@ Phoenix Coyotes (2001–02)26–34–12–9Recap
82LApril 14, 20022–4Edmonton Oilers (2001–02)26–35–12–9Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point)
  Overtime loss (1 point) :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Wild only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Wild only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 15 | Andrew Brunette | LW | 81 | 21 | 48 | 69 | −4 | 18 |
| 10 | Marian Gaborik | RW | 78 | 30 | 37 | 67 | 0 | 34 |
| 34 | Jim Dowd | C | 82 | 13 | 30 | 43 | −14 | 54 |
| 33 | Sergei Zholtok | C | 73 | 19 | 20 | 39 | −10 | 28 |
| 24 | Antti Laaksonen | LW | 82 | 16 | 17 | 33 | −5 | 22 |
| 37 | Wes Walz | C | 64 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 0 | 43 |
| 11 | Pascal Dupuis | LW | 76 | 15 | 12 | 27 | −10 | 16 |
| 18 | Richard Park | RW | 63 | 10 | 15 | 25 | −1 | 10 |
| 14 | Darby Hendrickson | C | 68 | 9 | 15 | 24 | −22 | 50 |
| 17 | Filip Kuba | D | 62 | 5 | 19 | 24 | −6 | 32 |
| 77 | Lubomir Sekeras | D | 69 | 4 | 20 | 24 | −7 | 38 |
| 22 | Stacy Roest | RW | 58 | 10 | 11 | 21 | −3 | 8 |
| 44 | Aaron Gavey | C | 71 | 6 | 11 | 17 | −21 | 38 |
| 2 | Willie Mitchell | D | 68 | 3 | 10 | 13 | −16 | 68 |
| 23 | Jason Marshall | D | 80 | 5 | 6 | 11 | −8 | 148 |
| 55 | Nick Schultz | D | 52 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 14 |
| 3 | Ladislav Benysek | D | 74 | 1 | 7 | 8 | −12 | 28 |
| 42 | Andy Sutton‡ | D | 19 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −4 | 35 |
| 9 | Hnat Domenichelli† | LW | 27 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −5 | 10 |
| 26 | Tony Virta | RW | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 71 | Sebastien Bordeleau‡ | C | 14 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 8 |
| 12 | Matt Johnson | LW | 60 | 4 | 0 | 4 | −13 | 183 |
| 4 | Brad Brown | D | 51 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −11 | 123 |
| 5 | Brad Bombardir | D | 28 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −6 | 14 |
| 31 | Roman Simicek | C | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| 25 | Sergei Krivokrasov‡ | RW | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 17 |
| 36 | Sylvain Blouin | LW | 43 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −11 | 130 |
| 19 | David Cullen† | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 0 |
| 35 | Manny Fernandez | G | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 4 |
| 31 | Derek Gustafson | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 6 | Mike Matteucci | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 39 | Travis Roche | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| 30 | Dwayne Roloson | G | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 8 |

### Goaltending

| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 30 | Dwayne Roloson | 45 | 14 | 20 | 7 | 1132 | 112 | 2.68 | .901 | 5 | 2506 |
| 35 | Manny Fernandez | 44 | 12 | 24 | 5 | 1157 | 125 | 3.05 | .892 | 1 | 2463 |
| 31 | Derek Gustafson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.000 | 0 | 26 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Week | Marian Gaborik (March 11) |
| League (in-season) | NHL YoungStars Game selection | Marian Gaborik |
| Team | Three Star Award | Marian Gaborik |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date | Ref |
| First game | Nick Schultz | October 14, 2001 | |
| First game | Tony Virta | March 20, 2002 | |

## Transactions

The Wild were involved in the following transactions from June 10, 2001, the day after the deciding game of the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 13, 2002, the day of the deciding game of the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 23, 2001 (2001-06-23) | To Minnesota Wild 3rd-round pick in 2001 | To New York Rangers 3rd-round pick in 20015th-round pick in 2001 |
| June 29, 2001 (2001-06-29) | To Minnesota Wild Sergei Zholtok | To Edmonton Oilers Future considerations |
| November 1, 2001 (2001-11-01) | To Minnesota Wild 7th-round pick in 2002Conditional draft pick in 2003 | To Anaheim Mighty Ducks Sergei Krivokrasov |
| January 4, 2002 (2002-01-04) | To Minnesota Wild David Cullen | To Phoenix Coyotes Sebastien Bordeleau |
| January 22, 2002 (2002-01-22) | To Minnesota Wild Hnat Domenichelli | To Atlanta Thrashers Andy Sutton |
| March 19, 2002 (2002-03-19) | To Minnesota Wild Greg Crozier | To Boston Bruins Darryl Laplante |
| May 24, 2002 (2002-05-24) | To Minnesota Wild Rights to Chris Dyment | To Montreal Canadiens 5th-round pick in 2002 |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| June 18, 2001 (2001-06-18) | Shawn Carter | Houston Aeros (AHL) | | Free agency |
| June 19, 2001 (2001-06-19) | Curtis Murphy | Orlando Solar Bears (IHL) | | Free agency |
| July 2, 2001 (2001-07-02) | Jason Marshall | Washington Capitals | | Free agency |
| July 2, 2001 (2001-07-02) | Dwayne Roloson | St. Louis Blues | | Free agency |
| July 6, 2001 (2001-07-06) | Andrew Brunette | Atlanta Thrashers | multi-year | Free agency |
| July 9, 2001 (2001-07-09) | Martin Brochu | Calgary Flames | | Free agency |
| July 13, 2001 (2001-07-13) | Trent Cull | Pittsburgh Penguins | | Free agency |
| July 16, 2001 (2001-07-16) | Mark Beaufait | Orlando Solar Bears (IHL) | | Free agency |
| July 25, 2001 (2001-07-25) | Mike Crowley | Anaheim Mighty Ducks | | Free agency |
| July 31, 2001 (2001-07-31) | Brad Brown | New York Rangers | | Free agency |
| September 28, 2001 (2001-09-28) | Sebastien Bordeleau | St. Louis Blues | | Waiver draft |
| September 29, 2001 (2001-09-29) | Zbynek Michalek | Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL) | | Free agency |
| November 23, 2001 (2001-11-23) | Frederic Cloutier | Louisiana IceGators (ECHL) | | Free agency |
| April 4, 2002 (2002-04-04) | Jeff Hoggan | University of Nebraska Omaha (CCHA) | | Free agency |
| April 8, 2002 (2002-04-08) | Matt Cullen | Colorado College (WCHA) | | Free agency |
| June 3, 2002 (2002-06-03) | Rastislav Pavlikovsky | HV71 (SHL) | | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| July 1, 2001 (2001-07-01) | Jeff Nielsen | | Contract expiration (UFA) |
| August 1, 2001 (2001-08-01) | Chris Armstrong | New York Islanders | Free agency (VI) |
| August 2, 2001 (2001-08-02) | Christian Matte | Buffalo Sabres | Free agency (VI) |
| August 29, 2001 (2001-08-29) | Brendan Walsh | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 30, 2001 (2001-08-30) | Zac Bierk | Phoenix Coyotes | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 31, 2001 (2001-08-31) | Ian Herbers | Ayr Scottish Eagles (BISL) | Free agency (VI) |
| N/A | David Brumby | Columbus Cottonmouths (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 28, 2001 (2001-09-28) | Martin Brochu | Vancouver Canucks | Waiver draft |
| October 4, 2001 (2001-10-04) | Nick Naumenko | Portland Pirates (AHL) | Free agency (VI) |
| April 8, 2002 (2002-04-08) | Roman Simicek | HIFK (Liiga) | Free agency |
| May 3, 2002 (2002-05-03) | Mark Beaufait | Eisbaren Berlin (DEL) | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| June 28, 2001 (2001-06-28) | Tony Virta | | Entry-level |
| July 1, 2001 (2001-07-01) | Darby Hendrickson | 3-year | Re-signing |
| July 3, 2001 (2001-07-03) | Brad Bombardir | | Re-signing |
| July 3, 2001 (2001-07-03) | Cam Stewart | | Re-signing |
| July 9, 2001 (2001-07-09) | Pavel Patera | | Re-signing |
| July 16, 2001 (2001-07-16) | Dan Cavanaugh | | Entry-level |
| July 17, 2001 (2001-07-17) | Aaron Gavey | | Re-signing |
| August 2, 2001 (2001-08-02) | Lubomir Sekeras | 2-year | Re-signing |
| August 3, 2001 (2001-08-03) | Andy Sutton | | Re-signing |
| August 10, 2001 (2001-08-10) | Manny Fernandez | 2-year | Arbitration award |
| August 13, 2001 (2001-08-13) | Filip Kuba | 2-year | Arbitration award |
| August 15, 2001 (2001-08-15) | Sergei Zholtok | 1-year | Arbitration award |
| September 13, 2001 (2001-09-13) | Sergei Krivokrasov | | Re-signing |
| September 18, 2001 (2001-09-18) | Stephane Veilleux | | Entry-level |
| September 23, 2001 (2001-09-23) | Kyle Wanvig | | Entry-level |
| November 15, 2001 (2001-11-15) | Jim Dowd | multi-year | Extension |
| March 9, 2002 (2002-03-09) | Sergei Zholtok | multi-year | Extension |
| April 15, 2002 (2002-04-15) | Marc Cavosie | | Entry-level |
| April 23, 2002 (2002-04-23) | Kyle Kettles | | Entry-level |
| May 31, 2002 (2002-05-31) | Chris Dyment | | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

Minnesota's draft picks at the 2001 NHL entry draft held at the National Car Rental Center in Sunrise, Florida.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 6 | Mikko Koivu | Finland | TPS (SM-liiga) |
| 2 | 36 | Kyle Wanvig | Canada | Red Deer Rebels (WHL) |
| 3 | 74 | Chris Heid | Canada | Spokane Chiefs (WHL) |
| 3 | 93 | Stephane Veilleux | Canada | Val-d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 103 | Tony Virta | Finland | TPS (SM-liiga) |
| 7 | 202 | Derek Boogaard | Canada | Prince George Cougars (WHL) |
| 8 | 239 | Jake Riddle | United States | Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) |