After a disappointing end to last year’s campaign, the Minnesota Wild finished their preseason play with a 5-1 record and are set to start the 2022-23 campaign on Thursday against the New York Rangers.
Jessi Pierce, a host of the Bardown Beauties Podcast, joined News Talk 830 WCCO’s Henry Lake to discuss her thoughts on the upcoming season and who needs to step up in order for the Wild to make a deep playoff push this year.
When it comes to the locker room sentiment after losing to the St. Louis Blues in six games last spring, Pierce says that no one is happy about how the team performed.
“They’re a little peeved off still that they were such a letdown in the playoffs because they truly believed in that team,” Pierce said.
Of course, most of the team from last year is back, minus one high-scoring Kevin Fiala, who was traded to the Los Angeles Kings after contract talks dried up and the team realized they wouldn’t be able to sign him with current financial restrictions.
“Minnesota is cash strapped due to those buyouts of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, so Kevin Fiala was not able to stay with this team, along with his 85 points,” Pierce said.
While some are worried about losing the scoring production from Fiala, Pierce says that the Wild will have to look elsewhere for those points, and two are the upcoming Marco Rossi and Calen Addison, who made the final roster after just their second Wild training camp.
“Two highly touted prospects, both of whom we saw glimpses of last year, and I think they are really going to impact this squad,” she said.
While Pierce says she has lowered her expectations slightly, she blames it on being a “Minnesota sports fan pessimist,” not because the team isn’t worth getting excited about.
“It’s going to be a fun season no matter what happens,” Pierce said.
