Wild First Playoff Victory 2007

Lore & Background

The Wild were founded on June 25, 1997, and began play in the 2000–01 season. The team was founded following the departure of the Minnesota North Stars, who were based in Minnesota from 1967 to 1993, when they relocated to Dallas, Texas, and became the Dallas Stars. The Wild made their first Stanley Cup playoffs appearance in 2003, making a surprise run to the Western Conference finals, but ultimately losing to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The team have appeared in the playoffs a total of 14 times, and have won one division championship, in 2008.

Reader's Guide

The Wild played their first-ever home game on October 11 against the Philadelphia Flyers and skated to a 3–3 tie. Before the game, it was announced the team would retire the number 1 jersey, their first number retirement, with no Wild player ever wearing it, to honor all Minnesota fans, who the team claimed were the true 'number one' to them. The most notable game of the year 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.

Did You Know?

• The Wild were officially named the Wild on January 22, 1998, at Aldrich Arena in suburban Maplewood, with the song 'Born to Be Wild' by Steppenwolf playing.
• The Wild became the first team in playoff history to capture a seven-game series twice after facing elimination during game 5, doing so in the 2003 playoffs.
• The Minnesota Wild-MASC partnership is the first partnership of its kind between a private professional sports team and a public amateur sports organization.