2018–19 Minnesota Wild season

2018–19 Minnesota Wild
Division	7th Central
Conference	11th Western
2018–19 record	37–36–9
Home record	16–18–7
Road record	21–18–2
Goals for	211
Goals against	237
Team information
General manager	Paul Fenton
Coach	Bruce Boudreau
Captain	Mikko Koivu
Alternate captains	Zach Parise Ryan Suter
Arena	Xcel Energy Center
Minor league affiliate(s)	Iowa Wild (AHL) Allen Americans (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Zach Parise (28)
Assists	Ryan Suter (40)
Points	Zach Parise (61)
Penalty minutes	Nick Seeler (64)
Plus/minus	Matt Bartkowski (+2)
Wins	Devan Dubnyk (31)
Goals against average	Devan Dubnyk (2.54)

The 2018–19 Minnesota Wild season was the 19th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 25, 1997. On April 2, 2019, the Wild were eliminated from playoff contention after the Colorado Avalanche's 6–2 victory against the Edmonton Oilers, marking the first time the Wild missed the postseason since the 2011–12 season.

Standings

Divisional standings

Team	GP	W	L	OL	ROW	GF	GA	Pts
Nashville Predators	82	47	29	6	43	240	214	100
Winnipeg Jets	82	47	30	5	45	272	244	99
St. Louis Blues	82	45	28	9	42	247	223	99
Dallas Stars	82	43	32	7	42	210	202	93
Arizona Coyotes	82	39	35	8	35	213	223	86
Chicago Blackhawks	82	36	34	12	33	270	292	84
Minnesota Wild	82	37	36	9	36	211	237	83

Conference standings

Central Division Division

Team	GP	W	L	OL	ROW	GF	GA	Pts
Nashville Predators	82	47	29	6	43	240	214	100
Winnipeg Jets	82	47	30	5	45	272	244	99
St. Louis Blues	82	45	28	9	42	247	223	99

Pacific Division

Team	GP	W	L	OL	ROW	GF	GA	Pts
Calgary Flames	82	50	25	7	50	289	227	107
San Jose Sharks	82	46	27	9	46	289	261	101
Vegas Golden Knights	82	43	32	7	40	249	230	93

Western Conference Wild Card

Team	GP	W	L	OL	ROW	GF	GA	Pts
Dallas Stars	82	43	32	7	42	210	202	93
Colorado Avalanche	82	38	30	14	36	260	246	90
Arizona Coyotes	82	39	35	8	35	213	223	86
Chicago Blackhawks	82	36	34	12	33	270	292	84
Minnesota Wild	82	37	36	9	36	211	237	83
Vancouver Canucks	82	35	36	11	29	225	254	81
Anaheim Ducks	82	35	37	10	32	199	251	80
Edmonton Oilers	82	35	38	9	32	232	274	79
Los Angeles Kings	82	31	42	9	28	202	263	71

Schedule and results

Preseason

The preseason schedule was published on June 13, 2018.

2018 preseason game log: 2–4–1 (Home: 2–2–0 ; Road: 0–2–1)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 17	Minnesota	1–2	Winnipeg		Hammond	15,321	0–1–0	Recap
2[a]	September 19	St. Louis	3–2	Minnesota		Stalock	—	0–2–0	Recap
3	September 20	Dallas	3–1	Minnesota		Dubnyk	16,117	0–3–0	Recap
4	September 22	Colorado	0–7	Minnesota		Stalock	18,410	1–3–0	Recap
5	September 24	Minnesota	3–5	Dallas		Dubnyk	11,332	1–4–0	Recap
6	September 26	Winnipeg	3–4	Minnesota		Dubnyk	16,921	2–4–0	Recap
7	September 28	Minnesota	3–4	Colorado	OT	Hammond	—	2–4–1	Recap
Notes: a  Game was played at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.

Regular season

The regular season schedule was released on June 21, 2018.

2018–19 game log: 37–36–9 (Home: 16–18–7; Away: 21–18–2)
October: 7–3–2 (Home: 5–0–2 ; Road: 2–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 4 Minnesota 1–4 Colorado Dubnyk 18,086 0–1–0 0 Recap 2 October 6 Vegas 2–1 Minnesota SO Dubnyk 19,077 0–1–1 1 Recap 3 October 11 Chicago 3–4 Minnesota OT Dubnyk 18,652 1–1–1 3 Recap 4 October 13 Carolina 5–4 Minnesota OT Dubnyk 18,715 1–1–2 4 Recap 5 October 15 Minnesota 2–4 Nashville Stalock 17,165 1–2–2 4 Recap 6 October 16 Arizona 1–2 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,795 2–2–2 6 Recap 7 October 19 Minnesota 3–1 Dallas Dubnyk 18,346 3–2–2 8 Recap 8 October 20 Tampa Bay 4–5 Minnesota OT Stalock 19,080 4–2–2 10 Recap 9 October 25 Los Angeles 1–4 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,778 5–2–2 12 Recap 10 October 27 Colorado 2–3 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,093 6–2–2 14 Recap 11 October 29 Minnesota 2–5 Vancouver Dubnyk 16,546 6–3–2 14 Recap 12 October 30 Minnesota 4–3 Edmonton Stalock 18,347 7–3–2 16 Recap
November: 7–6–0 (Home: 3–3–0 ; Road: 4–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 13 November 3 Minnesota 5–1 St. Louis Dubnyk 17,767 8–3–2 18 Recap 14 November 6 Minnesota 3–4 San Jose Dubnyk 15,853 8–4–2 18 Recap 15 November 8 Minnesota 3–1 Los Angeles Dubnyk 17,621 9–4–2 20 Recap 16 November 9 Minnesota 5–1 Anaheim Stalock 16,464 10–4–2 22 Recap 17 November 11 Minnesota 3–2 St. Louis Dubnyk 16,735 11–4–2 24 Recap 18 November 13 Washington 5–2 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,101 11–5–2 24 Recap 19 November 15 Vancouver 2–6 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,014 12–5–2 26 Recap 20 November 17 Buffalo 3–2 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,947 12–6–2 26 Recap 21 November 18 Minnesota 1–3 Chicago Stalock 21,373 12–7–2 26 Recap 22 November 21 Ottawa 4–6 Minnesota Stalock 19,035 13–7–2 28 Recap 23 November 23 Winnipeg 2–4 Minnesota Stalock 19,116 14–7–2 30 Recap 24 November 27 Arizona 4–3 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,706 14–8–2 30 Recap 25 November 29 Minnesota 2–4 Columbus Dubnyk 15,210 14–9–2 30 Recap
December: 4–8–1 (Home: 2–4–1 ; Road: 2–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 26 December 1 Toronto 5–3 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,107 14–10–2 30 Recap 27 December 4 Minnesota 3–2 Vancouver Dubnyk 17,122 15–10–2 32 Recap 28 December 6 Minnesota 0–2 Calgary Stalock 17,690 15–11–2 32 Recap 29 December 7 Minnesota 2–7 Edmonton Dubnyk 18,347 15–12–2 32 Recap 30 December 11 Montreal 1–7 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,681 16–12–2 34 Recap 31 December 13 Florida 1–5 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,714 17–12–2 36 Recap 32 December 15 Calgary 2–1 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,882 17–13–2 36 Recap 33 December 18 San Jose 4–0 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,870 17–14–2 36 Recap 34 December 20 Minnesota 1–2 Pittsburgh Dubnyk 18,435 17–15–2 36 Recap 35 December 22 Dallas 2–1 Minnesota OT Dubnyk 19,074 17–15–3 37 Recap 36 December 27 Minnesota 2–5 Chicago Dubnyk 21,735 17–16–3 37 Recap 37 December 29 Minnesota 3–1 Winnipeg Dubnyk 15,321 18–16–3 39 Recap 38 December 31 Pittsburgh 3–2 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,163 18–17–3 39 Recap
January: 8–4–0 (Home: 3–2–0 ; Road: 5–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 39 January 3 Minnesota 4–3 Toronto Dubnyk 19,244 19–17–3 41 Recap 40 January 5 Minnesota 4–3 Ottawa Dubnyk 14,124 20–17–3 43 Recap 41 January 7 Minnesota 1–0 Montreal Dubnyk 20,601 21–17–3 45 Recap 42 January 8 Minnesota 0–4 Boston Stalock 17,565 21–18–3 45 Recap 43 January 10 Winnipeg 2–3 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,072 22–18–3 47 Recap 44 January 12 Detroit 5–2 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,087 22–19–3 47 Recap 45 January 14 Minnesota 4–7 Philadelphia Dubnyk 19,123 22–20–3 47 Recap 46 January 15 Los Angeles 2–3 Minnesota SO Stalock 19,017 23–20–3 49 Recap 47 January 17 Anaheim 3–0 Minnesota Stalock 18,907 23–21–3 49 Recap 48 January 19 Columbus 1–2 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,054 24–21–3 51 Recap 49 January 21 Minnesota 4–2 Vegas Dubnyk 18,328 25–21–3 53 Recap 50 January 23 Minnesota 5–2 Colorado Dubnyk 17,310 26–21–3 55 Recap
February: 5–6–3 (Home: 1–4–2 ; Road: 4–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 51 February 1 Minnesota 1–3 Dallas Dubnyk 18,124 26–22–3 55 Recap 52 February 2 Chicago 4–3 Minnesota OT Stalock 19,114 26–22–4 56 Recap 53 February 5 Minnesota 4–5 Buffalo SO Dubnyk 16,847 26–22–5 57 Recap 54 February 7 Edmonton 4–1 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,904 26–23–5 57 Recap 55 February 9 Minnesota 4–2 New Jersey Dubnyk 15,783 27–23–5 59 Recap 56 February 10 Minnesota 1–2 NY Islanders Dubnyk 13,825 27–24–5 59 Recap 57 February 12 Philadelphia 5–4 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,607 27–25–5 59 Recap 58 February 15 New Jersey 5–4 Minnesota OT Dubnyk 19,041 27–25–6 60 Recap 59 February 17 St. Louis 4–0 Minnesota Stalock 19,102 27–26–6 60 Recap 60 February 19 Anaheim 4–0 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,533 27–27–6 60 Recap 61 February 21 Minnesota 4–1 NY Rangers Dubnyk 17,271 28–27–6 62 Recap 62 February 22 Minnesota 3–2 Detroit Dubnyk 19,515 29–27–6 64 Recap 63 February 24 St. Louis 1–2 Minnesota OT Dubnyk 18,645 30–27–6 66 Recap 64 February 26 Minnesota 3–2 Winnipeg Dubnyk 15,321 31–27–6 68 Recap
March: 5–7–3 (Home: 1–4–2 ; Road: 4–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 65 March 2 Minnesota 4–2 Calgary Dubnyk 19,289 32–27–6 70 Recap 66 March 3 Nashville 3–2 Minnesota SO Stalock 18,885 32–27–7 71 Recap 67 March 5 Minnesota 4–5 Nashville SO Dubnyk 17,668 32–27–8 72 Recap 68 March 7 Minnesota 3–0 Tampa Bay Dubnyk 19,092 33–27–8 74 Recap 69 March 8 Minnesota 2–6 Florida Dubnyk 12,388 33–28–8 74 Recap 70 March 11 San Jose 3–0 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,907 33–29–8 74 Recap 71 March 14 Dallas 4–1 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,919 33–30–8 74 Recap 72 March 16 NY Rangers 2–5 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,844 34–30–8 76 Recap 73 March 17 NY Islanders 3–2 Minnesota OT Stalock 18,696 34–30–9 77 Recap 74 March 19 Colorado 3–1 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,785 34–31–9 77 Recap 75 March 22 Minnesota 2–1 Washington Dubnyk 18,506 35–31–9 79 Recap 76 March 23 Minnesota 1–5 Carolina Dubnyk 16,571 35–32–9 79 Recap 77 March 25 Nashville 1–0 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,833 35–33–9 79 Recap 78 March 29 Minnesota 3–2 Vegas Dubnyk 18,492 36–33–9 81 Recap 79 March 31 Minnesota 0–4 Arizona Dubnyk 17,431 36–34–9 81 Recap
April: 1–2–0 (Home: 1–1–0 ; Road: 0–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 80 April 2 Winnipeg 1–5 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,590 37–34–9 83 Recap 81 April 4 Boston 3–0 Minnesota Stalock 19,074 37–35–9 83 Recap 82 April 6 Minnesota 0–3 Dallas Stalock 18,532 37–36–9 83 Recap
Legend:       Win (2 points)       Loss (0 points)       Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Player statistics

As of April 6, 2019

Skaters

Regular season

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Parise, ZachZach Parise	74	28	33	61	–2	26
Staal, EricEric Staal	81	22	30	52	–7	34
Granlund, MikaelMikael Granlund ‡ || 63 || 15 || 34 || 49 || –2 || 20
Suter, RyanRyan Suter	82	7	40	47	–8	41
Spurgeon, JaredJared Spurgeon	82	14	29	43	–1	20
Zucker, JasonJason Zucker	81	21	21	42	–9	28
Koivu, MikkoMikko Koivu	48	8	21	29	–2	22
Coyle, CharlieCharlie Coyle ‡ || 60 || 10 || 18 || 28 || 1 || 16
Greenway, JordanJordan Greenway	81	12	12	24	−12	29
Niederreiter, NinoNino Niederreiter ‡ || 46 || 9 || 14 || 23 || −11 || 10
Dumba, MathewMathew Dumba	32	12	10	22	–5	21
Foligno, MarcusMarcus Foligno	82	7	12	19	–1	55
Brodin, JonasJonas Brodin	82	4	14	18	–15	30
Kunin, LukeLuke Kunin	49	6	11	17	–9	27
Donato, RyanRyan Donato † || 22 || 4 || 12 || 16 || –4 || 4
Fehr, EricEric Fehr	72	7	8	15	–8	30
Eriksson Ek, JoelJoel Eriksson Ek	58	7	7	14	−7	20
Brown, J. T.J. T. Brown	56	3	5	8	0	29
Fiala, KevinKevin Fiala † || 19 || 3 || 4 || 7 || –12 || 10
Seeler, NickNick Seeler	71	2	5	7	–4	64
Pateryn, GregGreg Pateryn	80	1	6	7	–11	41
Aberg, PontusPontus Aberg † || 22 || 1 || 5 || 6 || –4 || 6
Hunt, BradBrad Hunt	29	3	2	5	–5	6
Rask, VictorVictor Rask † || 23 || 2 || 1 || 3 || –1 || 4
Hendricks, MattMatt Hendricks ‡ || 22 || 0 || 2 || 2 || –2 || 19
Bartkowski, MattMatt Bartkowski	2	1	0	1	2	0
Read, MattMatt Read	12	1	0	1	–2	2
Rau, KyleKyle Rau	6	0	1	1	0	0
Murphy, RyanRyan Murphy † || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0
Bitetto, AnthonyAnthony Bitetto † || 18 || 0 || 0 || 0 || –8 || 4
Prosser, NateNate Prosser	15	0	0	0	1	2
Belpedio, LouieLouie Belpedio	2	0	0	0	0	0
Sturm, NicoNico Sturm	2	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltenders

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Dubnyk, DevanDevan Dubnyk	67	66	3,855:16	31	28	6	163	2.54	1,877	.913	2	0	2	2
Stalock, AlexAlex Stalock	21	16	1,065:06	6	8	3	53	2.99	525	.899	0	0	2	4

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Wild. Stats reflect time with the Wild only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Wild only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Awards and honours

Milestones

Regular season Player Milestone Reached Granlund, M.M. Granlund 400th career NHL game October 6, 2018 Zucker, J.J. Zucker 100th career NHL goal October 13, 2018 Staal, E.E. Staal 1,100th career NHL game October 19, 2018 Suter, R.R. Suter 500th career NHL point October 19, 2018 Suter, R.R. Suter 1,000th career NHL game October 25, 2018

Transactions

The Wild have been involved in the following transactions during the 2018–19 season.

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
October 3, 2018 (2018-10-03)	To Montreal Canadiens Gustav Olofsson	To Minnesota Wild William Bitten
November 21, 2018 (2018-11-21)	To Los Angeles Kings Pavel Jenys	To Minnesota Wild Stepan Falkovsky
January 16, 2019 (2019-01-16)	To Anaheim Ducks Justin Kloos	To Minnesota Wild Pontus Aberg
January 17, 2019 (2019-01-17)	To Carolina Hurricanes Nino Niederreiter	To Minnesota Wild Victor Rask
January 21, 2019 (2019-01-21)	To Vegas Golden Knights Conditional 5th-round pick in 2019	To Minnesota Wild Brad Hunt 6th-round pick in 2019
January 30, 2019 (2019-01-30)	To New Jersey Devils Ryan Murphy	To Minnesota Wild Michael Kapla
February 20, 2019 (2019-02-20)	To Boston Bruins Charlie Coyle	To Minnesota Wild Ryan Donato Conditional 5th-round pick in 2019
February 25, 2019 (2019-02-25)	To Nashville Predators Mikael Granlund	To Minnesota Wild Kevin Fiala
February 25, 2019 (2019-02-25)	To Winnipeg Jets Matt Hendricks	To Minnesota Wild 7th-round pick in 2020
May 30, 2019 (2019-05-30)	To Toronto Maple Leafs Conditional 7th-round pick in 2020	To Minnesota Wild Fedor Gordeev

Free agents

Date	Player	Team	Contract term	Ref
June 29, 2018 (2018-06-29)	Steve Michalek	to Red Bull Salzburg (EBEL)	Unknown
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Matt Bartkowski	from Calgary Flames	1-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	J. T. Brown	from Anaheim Ducks	2-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Matt Cullen	to Pittsburgh Penguins	1-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Eric Fehr	from San Jose Sharks	1-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Kurtis Gabriel	to New Jersey Devils	1-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Andrew Hammond	from Colorado Avalanche	1-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Matt Hendricks	from Winnipeg Jets	1-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Mike Liambas	from Anaheim Ducks	2-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Greg Pateryn	from Dallas Stars	3-year
July 6, 2018 (2018-07-06)	Tyler Ennis	to Toronto Maple Leafs	1-year
July 14, 2018 (2018-07-14)	Zack Mitchell	to Los Angeles Kings	1-year
July 19, 2018 (2018-07-19)	Pat Cannone	to ERC Ingolstadt (DEL)	1-year
July 30, 2018 (2018-07-30)	Matt Read	from Philadelphia Flyers	1-year
August 7, 2018 (2018-08-07)	Dylan Labbe	to Wichita Thunder (ECHL)	1-year
August 28, 2018 (2018-08-28)	Kyle Quincey	to HIFK (Liiga)	1-year
August 31, 2018 (2018-08-31)	Zach Palmquist	to Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL)	1-year
November 1, 2018 (2018-11-01)	Colton Beck	from Iowa Wild (AHL)	2-year
March 18, 2019 (2019-03-18)	Mat Robson	from Minnesota Golden Gophers (Big Ten)	2-year
April 1, 2019 (2019-04-01)	Nico Sturm	from Clarkson Golden Knights (ECAC Hockey)	1-year
May 10, 2019 (2019-05-10)	Gerald Mayhew	from Iowa Wild (AHL)	2-year

Waivers

Date	Player	Team	Ref
January 25, 2019 (2019-01-25)	Anthony Bitetto	from Nashville Predators

Contract terminations Date Player Via Ref June 30, 2018 (2018-06-30) Tyler Ennis Buyout November 28, 2018 (2018-11-28) Eric Martinsson Mutual termination

Signings

Date	Player	Contract term	Ref
June 25, 2018 (2018-06-25)	Ryan Murphy	1-year
June 27, 2018 (2018-06-27)	Kyle Rau	2-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Nick Seeler	3-year
July 21, 2018 (2018-07-21)	Matt Dumba	5-year
July 25, 2018 (2018-07-25)	Jason Zucker	5-year
February 25, 2019 (2019-02-25)	Eric Staal	2-year
March 5, 2019 (2019-03-05)	Connor Dewar	3-year
March 19, 2019 (2019-03-19)	Alexander Khovanov	3-year
June 11, 2019 (2019-06-11)	Matt Bartkowski	1-year

Draft picks

See also: List of Minnesota Wild draft picks

Below are the Minnesota Wild's selections at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 22 and 23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	24	Filip Johansson	D	Sweden	Leksands IF (Allsvenskan)
3	631	Jack McBain	C	Canada	Toronto Jr. Canadiens (OJHL)
3	86	Alexander Khovanov	C	Russia	Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)
3	922	Connor Dewar	C	Canada	Everett Silvertips (WHL)
5	148	Simon Johansson	D	Sweden	Djurgårdens IF J20 (SuperElit)
5	1553	Damien Giroux	C	Canada	Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
6	179	Shawn Boudrias	RW	Canada	Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL)
7	210	Sam Hengtes	C	United States	Tri-City Storm (USHL)

Notes:

1. The Buffalo Sabres' third-round pick went to the Minnesota Wild as the result of a trade on June 30, 2017, that sent Jason Pominville, Marco Scandella and a fourth-round pick in 2018 to Buffalo in exchange for Tyler Ennis, Marcus Foligno and this pick.
2. The Vegas Golden Knights' third-round pick went to the Minnesota Wild as the result of a trade on June 21, 2017, that sent Alex Tuch to Vegas in exchange for this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).
3. The Washington Capitals' fifth-round pick went to the Minnesota Wild as the result of a trade on June 14, 2017, that sent Tyler Graovac to Washington in exchange for this pick.