Minnesota Wild (0-1-1, 1 pt)
Despite a lackluster performance out of the gate, the Minnesota Wild still have enough pieces to make a run in the Central division. Eric Staal and Mikko Koivu represent a one-two punch down the middle that most teams cannot replicate. Personally, I believe Devan Dubnyk is on his way back to reality after a pair of career-changing seasons in net for Minnesota. After I watched him in a Predators uniform a few seasons back, I was ecstatic about the idea of him between the pipes for a division rival. However, he proved more than formidable and over the past two years has established himself as an elite regular season goalie.
That being said, Dubnyk is not going to be able to carry his club past Minnesota’s deficiencies any longer. They will need to button up defensively and find some consistent production from the forwards to make a real splash in the West. For now, I have them at No. 8, but they are one of the biggest wildcards on this list.