Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in St . Paul , Minnesota , United States . They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . The team was founded in 2000 , becoming the first NHL franchise in Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas . They lost their first ever game 3 – 1 against the Anaheim Ducks and recorded their first win against the Tampa Bay Lightning five games later . The Wild have played at the Xcel Energy Center since being founded . In the 2002 – 03 NHL season , the team made its first playoff appearance , and made a surprising run to the Western Conference Finals where they were swept by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim . Minnesota has two minor league affiliates , the Houston Aeros and Bakersfield Condors . It was announced by the NHL that the Wild would host the 2011 NHL Entry Draft at the Xcel Energy Center . History . Preparations of a new franchise . Following the departure of the Minnesota North Stars after the 1993 season , the state was without an NHL team for seven seasons . On June 25 , 1997 , the NHL announced that Minnesota had been awarded an expansion franchise , to begin play in the 2000 – 01 season . The six finalist team names for the new NHL franchise were Blue Ox , Freeze , Northern Lights , Voyageurs , White Bears , and Wild . Jac Sperling was named Chief Executive Officer of the Minnesota team and Brian Skluzacek was named Chief Financial Officer . The team was officially named the Wild , with the unveiling occurring at Aldrich Arena in White Bear Lake , MN . The Minnesota Wild announced its first major sponsorship agreement with Mastercard from First USA . It was the earliest that First USA had ever signed an agreement in advance of a team beginning play ( 31 months ) . The State of Minnesota agreed in legislation to fund $ 65 million of the $ 130 million project costs for the , Xcel Energy Center in St . Paul , Minnesota . The Saint Paul Civic Center deconstruction began soon thereafter and the Xcel Energy Center design was announced . A groundbreaking ceremony for the Xcel Energy Center was hosted in St . Paul , Minnesota . The Minnesota Wild announced a 26 - year partnership agreement with the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission ( MASC ) . The Minnesota Wild - MASC partnership is the first partnership of its kind between a private professional sports team and a public amateur sports organization . Doug Risebrough was named executive vice president / general manager of Minnesota Wild and the Xcel Energy Center was completed and ready for use . First five seasons . First NHL Season . The Minnesota Wild ' s first season officially started . The Wild named Jacques Lemaire their first - ever head coach and the team picked Marian Gaborik third overall in the first round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft . Gaborik would go on to score the first ever goal for the Wild in their franchise debut on October 6 at Anaheim . The Wild played their first ever home game on October 11 against the Philadelphia Flyers and skated to a 3 – 3 tie . Minnesota native Darby Hendrickson scored the first - ever home goal for the Wild . The team was not very successful on the ice , but showed promise for future seasons . The most notable game of the year , however , was the first visit of the Dallas Stars , who had formerly played in Minnesota as the Minnesota North Stars . The Wild rode an emotional sellout crowd of over 18 , 000 to a 6 – 0 shutout in Dallas ' first regular season game in Minnesota since a neutral - site game in 1993 . The season ended with Scott Pellerin as the leading scorer with 39 points while Wes Walz , Darby Hendrickson , and Gaborik paced the team with 18 goals each . 2001 - 2002 . The Wild would get off to a strong start by getting at least one point in their first seven games . However , the Wild would finish in last place again with a record of 26 – 35 – 12 – 9 . Along the way , there were signs the Wild were improving , as second - year speedster Gaborik had a solid sophomore season with 30 goals , including an invite to the NHL YoungStars Game , and Andrew Brunette led the team in scoring with 69 points . 2002 - 03 . Gaborik spent much of the season vying for the league scoring crown before slumping in the second half , and the Wild , in their first ever playoff appearance , made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals before being swept 4 – 0 by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim . Previously , the Wild had beaten the favored and third - seeded Colorado Avalanche in the first round in seven games , coming back from a 3 – 1 series deficit and winning both Game Six and Seven in overtime . Brunette scored the series clinching goal , the last ever on Patrick Roy . In the Western Conference semifinals , the Wild beat the fourth - seeded Vancouver Canucks , again in seven games , and again after being down 3 – 1 in a series . In the process , the Wild became the first team in playoff history to capture a seven - game series twice after facing elimination during Game Five . 2003 - 04 . When the season started , the Wild were short - handed with both Pascal Dupuis and Gaborik holding out . After struggling in the first month , the Wild finally got their two young star left - wingers signed , but both struggled to get back into game shape as the Wild struggled through much of November . In a deep hole , the Wild could not climb back into the playoffs , despite finishing the season strong , with wins in five of their last six games as they finished last in the competitive Northwest Division with a record of 30 – 29 – 20 – 3 . Along the way , the Wild began to gear up for the future , trading away several of their older players who were a part of the franchise from the beginning , including Brad Bombardir and Jim Dowd . 2004 - 05 . Season cancelled due to lockout . Former Wild player Sergei Zholtok died from a heart condition during a game in Europe . Zholtok died in the arms of Minnesotan and former Wild player Darby Hendrickson . Post - lockout . Minnesota finished in last place in the Northwest Division , eight points behind the Vancouver Canucks ; along the way , Gaborik set a new franchise record for goals in a season ( 38 ) , and Brian Rolston set a new highest point total by a Wild player in a season ( 79 ) . The goaltender controversy between Manny Fernandez and Dwayne Roloson ended when Roloson was traded to the Edmonton Oilers for a first round pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft . The Wild signed veteran free agents Kim Johnsson , Mark Parrish , Branko Radivojevic , and Keith Carney . On the day of the NHL Entry Draft , they traded the 17th overall pick and prospect Patrick O ' Sullivan to the Los Angeles Kings for veteran Slovak Pavol Demitra . Niklas Backstrom was the starting goalie for the Wild after previous starter Manny Fernandez sprained his knee on January 20 . Fernandez played for the first time since the sprain on March 6 and was removed after allowing three goals in two periods in the Wild ' s 3 – 0 loss to the San Jose Sharks . Josh Harding was brought up from the Wild ' s AHL affiliate , the Houston Aeros , when Fernandez was hurt , and remained on Minnesota ' s roster for the rest of the season as the backup goalie . All - Star winger Marian Gaborik returned from a groin injury in January 2007 and made an immediate impact , bringing a new spark to a lacking offense . The Wild made the playoffs in 2007 for the second time in team history , but were eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks in the opening round . Notably , the same Anaheim franchise eliminated the Wild in their first playoff year , in the conference finals , in 2003 . The Wild broke numerous franchise records including most goals and points in a season ( Marian Gaborik — 42 Goals and 83 points ) . Also , Jacques Lemaire recorded his 500th career coaching win and the Wild clinched their first ever Northwest Division title in a 3 – 1 victory over the Calgary Flames on April 3 , 2008 . They again faced the Colorado Avalanche in the first round as sixth and third seed ( as in the 2003 playoffs ) , but this time the roles were reversed , and the Wild held home - ice advantage . However , Minnesota came up short , being ousted in six games by the Avalanche . During the off - season of 2008 , the Wild re - acquired Andrew Brunette from the Avalanche , as well as trading for defenseman Marek Zidlicky . The Wild also signed free agents Antti Miettinen and Owen Nolan to multi - year deals . There seemed to be a stigma about Jacques Lemaire ' s defensive system that caused a number of top free agents to avoid the Wild . Despite winning the Northwest Division the previous season , the Wild fell to ninth place in the Western Conference in 2008 – 09 , missing the playoffs entirely . Much of this was in part due to a lack of scoring and overall team offense , and the injuries to star forward Marian Gaborik , who played only 17 games . Jacques Lemaire , coach of the Wild since the team ' s inception in the 2000 – 01 season , resigned as coach at seasons end . General Manager Doug Risebrough was later fired , leading to a nearly complete turnover in the Wild ' s coaching and management staff . In the summer of 2009 , owner Craig Leipold hired former Pittsburgh Penguins Assistant General Manager Chuck Fletcher to act as standing GM . Later that summer , Fletcher selected Todd Richards as head coach . Once the free agency period opened that summer , Martin Havlat was brought over from the Chicago Blackhawks in order to lessen the blow of Marian Gaborik ' s departure . During the first month of the 2009 – 10 season , the team announced their first ever full - time captain , Mikko Koivu . Team information . Jerseys . The Wild home jersey has a small imprint of the team ' s primary logo inside a white circle , which is surrounded by the words " Minnesota Wild " in a larger ring against a green background . The rest of the jersey is predominantly red , with additional swatches of green on the sleeves . The away jersey uses a larger version of the primary logo without the concentric circles on a predominantly white jersey . On August 30 , 2009 , the team unveiled a third jersey , which is almost the same design as the red home jersey but predominantly green with white accents . It says " Minnesota Wild " in script writing across the chest . Logo . The multi - functional primary logo of the " Wild Animal " has been met with both praise and criticism . The logo is an optical illusion that depicts both an environmental landscape and the silhouette of a wild animal . The questions surrounding the identity of the animal depicted , has sparked debate amongst logo enthusiasts , earning it recognition as one of the best logos in sport according to The Good Point . Some feel as though the form of the animal on the logo is that of a wild cat , while the majority view it to be a bear . The hidden components of the logo , the eye depicts the North Star which pays homage to the former Minnesota North Stars , the mouth resembles a river , the ear is the moon , and the pine trees add texture to the " wild animal . " In 2008 , " Nordy " was introduced as the official mascot of the team . Ownership . The Minnesota Wild is owned by Minnesota Sports & Entertainment , which is a limited partnership formed by former majority owner Bob Naegele Jr . of " Naegele Sports , LLC " in 1997 . On January 10 , 2008 , it was announced that the franchise was being sold to former Nashville Predators owner Craig Leipold . The NHL ’ s Board of Governors officially approved Leipold ’ s purchase of Minnesota Sports & Entertainment ( MSE ) on April 10 , 2008 . Leipold , a resident of Racine , Wisconsin , completed the sale of the Nashville Predators to a local ownership group on December 7 , 2007 , a team he owned since the expansion franchise was awarded to Nashville in 1997 . Under Leipold ’ s ownership , the Predators were dedicated to building a long - term winning franchise , playing an important role in the community through service initiatives , providing a fun and entertaining game - night experience and building strong relationships with their fans and corporate partners . Leipold is the majority owner and principal investor in MSE , a regional sports and entertainment leader that includes the NHL ’ s Minnesota Wild , its AHL affiliate the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League , the National Lacrosse League ’ s Minnesota Swarm , Wildside Caterers , 317 on Rice Park and the facility management of Xcel Energy Center and the Saint Paul RiverCentre . He also serves as the team ’ s Governor at NHL Board of Governors ’ meetings . After purchase of MSE , Mr . Leopold sold the Swarm to John Arlotta . Along with the Wild , the group also operates the Xcel Energy Center , the Saint Paul RiverCentre and Roy Wilkins Auditorium . The group has recently extended its business through a majority stake in Wildside Caterers . The partnership also owns and operates 317 on Rice Park , which is the former historic Minnesota Club . Season - by - season record . " This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Wild . For the full season - by - season history , see List of Minnesota Wild seasons " " Note : GP = Games played , W = Wins , L = Losses , T = Ties , OTL = Overtime Losses , Pts = Points , GF = Goals for , GA = Goals against , PIM = Penalties in minutes " Notable players . Team captains . " Note : Since joining the NHL in 2000 , the Wild rotated the captaincy for their first 9 seasons on a monthly basis among several of its players each season , with some players serving multiple times under Jacques Lemaire . After Todd Richards became head coach for the start of the 2009 - 2010 season , Mikko Koivu , who was the last rotating captain and had had the captaincy three different times in the 2008 - 2009 season , became the franchise ' s first permanent captain on October 20 , 2009 . < br clear = " all " > Honored members . " Hall of Famers " : The Wild ' s former Head Coach Jacques Lemaire was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame ( in the players category ) in 1985 . On April 3 , 2008 , he became only the 11th coach in NHL history to have 500 wins . " Retired Numbers " : The Wild retired number 1 , as a tribute to Wild Fans , on October 10 , 2000 . The number 99 was retired league - wide for Wayne Gretzky on February 7 , 2001 . Franchise scoring leaders . These are the top - ten point - scorers in franchise history . " Note : Pos = Position ; GP = Games Played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; P / G = Points per game ; * = current Wild player " NHL awards and trophies . Jack Adams Award Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award William M . Jennings Trophy