Are the Minnesota Wild Western Conference Contenders?

The Minnesota Wild are the hottest team in the Western Conference, but can they be classified as legitimate contenders to win the West?

There are a lot of solid pieces on the Wild, and reason to be bullish about them, especially when you consider how wide open the West appears to be. 

The defending Stanley Cup champions won’t be an easy out while teams have continued to remain jumbled, and no one has done a good enough job separating from the pack. 

With that, let’s break down the Minnesota Wild’s current odds to win the West Conference on the FanDuel Sportsbook and whether there’s value in that number.

The Minnesota Wild have posted an 8-1-1 record over their past ten games and have won four in a row. They’ve gone through hot and cold stretches throughout this season but sit comfortably in the second spot in the Central division. There are definitely questions about if this team can score enough to win when the games get tighter.

The Wild occupy the 26th-best scoring offense in the NHL, which won’t cut it in the playoffs. In saying that, they’re also an elite defensive team and in goal, where they sit third in the NHL in goals allowed per game. Knowing that, as a bettor, it will likely come down to how much you value defense vs. goal scoring in the postseason. 

Despite having a veteran future Hall of Famer in Marc-Andre Fleury as an option in goal, Filip Gustavsson has emerged as a surprise threat in net for Minnesota. Heading into the season, Gustavsson was expected to back up Fleury, but he’s performed way above expectations and has compiled a stunning .933 save percentage. If the playoffs started today, it would be hard to tell Gustavsson he wasn’t the guy, even with Fleury’s pedigree. Regardless of who tends the goal for Minnesota, they should feel confident in either starter to give them an edge heading into a playoff series. 

Despite not having a lot of primary goal scorers on their roster, the Wild still have a superstar talent up front in Kirill Kaprizov. The crafty Russian forward has tallied 73 points in 63 games and has already proven to be a playoff performer with 11 points in 13 games. If he can continue to make the players around him better, the Wild have to be looked at as a legitimate team in the conference. 

If the Wild are considered a real threat in the West, we’ll likely need to see more from some of their youngsters, such as Matt Boldy. If some of their younger talent can elevate their games to a different level, the Wild might have the type of offense they need to find success in the playoffs. 

Minnesota currently boasts +850 odds to win the West, which has them with the fifth-shortest odds. You can make a real case for seven or eight teams to win the conference, but there’s some nice value present here with the Wild’s current odds that warrant backing.