The NHL season begins tonight and one of the teams that could be poised to take the next step is the Minnesota Wild. There’s obstructions aplenty in the Western Conference; the stronger of the two. Sports Illustrated picked Chicago to win it all. Los Angeles is pick by some to repeat. No team was more aggressive this offseason than Anaheim.
St. Louis and Colorado will be very strong as well. Did the Minnesota Wild make enough improvements this offseason?
NBC Analyst Jeremy Roenick on Western Conference sleeper team: “Minnesota is a real sleeper. Thomas Vanek is going to be happy playing at home with the Minnesota Wild. If they can get their goaltending straight, if Niklas Backstrom can come back and stay healthy – that’s the key for them.”
However, he doesn’t see the Wild coming out of the West though.
Roenick on the Western Conference favorites: “The Kings have to be the favorites again. It’s extremely hard to repeat…we haven’t had a repeat in nearly 20 years. That’s a tall order, but they have such good chemistry and they are so well-coached. You have to put Chicago and L.A. at the top of the Western Conference again…they’re still the favorites.”
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and very often writes The Sports Bank.net ,which is partners with Fox Sports. Read his features stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks). His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2