2016–17 Minnesota Wild season

2016–17 Minnesota Wild
Division	2nd Central
Conference	2nd Western
2016–17 record	49–25–8
Home record	27–12–2
Road record	22–13–6
Goals for	266
Goals against	208
Team information
General manager	Chuck Fletcher
Coach	Bruce Boudreau
Captain	Mikko Koivu
Alternate captains	Zach Parise Ryan Suter
Arena	Xcel Energy Center
Minor league affiliate(s)	Iowa Wild (AHL) Quad City Mallards (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Eric Staal (28)
Assists	Mikael Granlund (43)
Points	Mikael Granlund (69)
Penalty minutes	Chris Stewart (94)
Plus/minus	Ryan Suter Jason Zucker (+34)
Wins	Devan Dubnyk (40)
Goals against average	Alex Stalock (1.51)

The 2016–17 Minnesota Wild season was the 17th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 25, 1997.

Standings

Central Division

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	z – Chicago Blackhawks	82	50	23	9	46	244	213	+31	109
2	x – Minnesota Wild	82	49	25	8	46	266	208	+58	106
3	x – St. Louis Blues	82	46	29	7	44	235	218	+17	99
4	x – Nashville Predators	82	41	29	12	39	240	224	+16	94
5	Winnipeg Jets	82	40	35	7	37	249	256	−7	87
6	Dallas Stars	82	34	37	11	33	223	262	−39	79
7	Colorado Avalanche	82	22	56	4	21	166	278	−112	48

Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot; z – Clinched conference

Schedule and results

Pre-season

2016 Pre-season Game Log: 3–3–0 (Home: 2–1–0 ; Road: 1–2–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 26 (in University Park, Pennsylvania)	Minnesota	2–1	Buffalo		Stalock	—	1–0–0	Recap
2	September 27	Colorado	4–1	Minnesota		Dubnyk	16,920	1–1–0	Recap
3	September 29	Minnesota	1–4	Winnipeg		Kuemper	15,294	1–2–0	Recap
4	October 2	Carolina	1–3	Minnesota		Dubnyk	18,665	2–2–0	Recap
5	October 4	Minnesota	0–2	Colorado		Stalock	—	2–3–0	Recap
6	October 8	Winnipeg	1–5	Minnesota		Dubnyk	18,302	3–3–0	Recap

Regular season

2016–17 Game Log
October: 6–2–1 (Home: 4–0–0 ; Road: 2–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 13 Minnesota 2–3 St. Louis Dubnyk 19,673 0–1–0 0 Recap 2 October 15 Winnipeg 3–4 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,024 1–1–0 2 Recap 3 October 18 Los Angeles 3–6 Minnesota Kuemper 18,644 2–1–0 4 Recap 4 October 20 Toronto 2–3 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,968 3–1–0 6 Recap 5 October 22 Minnesota 1–2 New Jersey OT Dubnyk 16,514 3–1–1 7 Recap 6 October 23 Minnesota 3–6 NY Islanders Kuemper 11,583 3–2–1 7 Recap 7 October 25 Minnesota 5–0 Boston Dubnyk 17,565 4–2–1 9 Recap 8 October 27 Minnesota 4–0 Buffalo Dubnyk 18,122 5–2–1 11 Recap 9 October 29 Dallas 0–4 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,031 6–2–1 13 Recap
November: 5–6–2 (Home: 3–3–0 ; Road: 2–3–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 10 November 1 Buffalo 2–1 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,864 6–3–1 13 Recap 11 November 5 Minnesota 0–1 Colorado Dubnyk 16,256 6–4–1 13 Recap 12 November 10 Minnesota 4–2 Pittsburgh Dubnyk 18,458 7–4–1 15 Recap 13 November 12 Minnesota 2–3 Philadelphia Dubnyk 19,591 7–5–1 15 Recap 14 November 13 Minnesota 2–1 Ottawa OT Kuemper 14,265 8–5–1 17 Recap 15 November 15 Calgary 1–0 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,048 8–6–1 17 Recap 16 November 17 Boston 0–1 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,774 9–6–1 19 Recap 17 November 19 Colorado 3–2 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,238 9–7–1 19 Recap 18 November 21 Minnesota 2–3 Dallas OT Kuemper 18,532 9–7–2 20 Recap 19 November 23 Winnipeg 1–3 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,022 10–7–2 22 Recap 20 November 25 Pittsburgh 2–6 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,212 11–7–2 24 Recap 21 November 26 Minnesota 3–4 St. Louis SO Dubnyk 19,396 11–7–3 25 Recap 22 November 29 Minnesota 4–5 Vancouver Kuemper 17,917 11–8–3 25 Recap
December: 12–1–1 (Home: 6–1–0 ; Road: 6–0–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 23 December 2 Minnesota 2–3 Calgary SO Dubnyk 18,390 11–8–4 26 Recap 24 December 4 Minnesota 2–1 Edmonton OT Dubnyk 18,347 12–8–4 28 Recap 25 December 7 Minnesota 3–2 Toronto Dubnyk 18,944 13–8–4 30 Recap 26 December 9 Edmonton 2–3 Minnesota SO Dubnyk 19,019 14–8–4 32 Recap 27 December 11 St. Louis 1–3 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,363 15–8–4 34 Recap 28 December 13 Florida 1–5 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,754 16–8–4 36 Recap 29 December 15 Minnesota 5–2 Nashville Dubnyk 17,113 17–8–4 38 Recap 30 December 17 Arizona 1–4 Minnesota Kuemper 19,036 18–8–4 40 Recap 31 December 20 Colorado 0–2 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,018 19–8–4 42 Recap 32 December 22 Minnesota 4–2 Montreal Dubnyk 21,288 20–8–4 44 Recap 33 December 23 Minnesota 7–4 NY Rangers Kuemper 18,006 21–8–4 46 Recap 34 December 27 Minnesota 3–2 Nashville OT Dubnyk 17,141 22–8–4 48 Recap 35 December 29 NY Islanders 4–6 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,252 23–8–4 50 Recap 36 December 31 Columbus 4–2 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,307 23–9–4 50 Recap
January: 10–2–1 (Home: 4–2–0 ; Road: 6–0–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 37 January 5 Minnesota 5–4 San Jose Dubnyk 17,562 24–9–4 52 Recap 38 January 7 Minnesota 3–4 Los Angeles OT Kuemper 18,230 24–9–5 53 Recap 39 January 8 Minnesota 2–1 Anaheim Dubnyk 15,645 25–9–5 55 Recap 40 January 12 Montreal 1–7 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,104 26–9–5 57 Recap 41 January 14 Minnesota 5–4 Dallas Kuemper 18,532 27–9–5 59 Recap 42 January 15 Minnesota 3–2 Chicago Dubnyk 22,051 28–9–5 61 Recap 43 January 17 New Jersey 4–3 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,051 28–10–5 61 Recap 44 January 19 Arizona 3–4 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,027 29–10–5 63 Recap 45 January 21 Anaheim 3–5 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,288 30–10–5 65 Recap 46 January 22 Nashville 4–2 Minnesota Kuemper 19,087 30–11–5 65 Recap 47 January 24 Minnesota 3–2 Dallas SO Dubnyk 17,877 31–11–5 67 Recap 48 January 26 St. Louis 1–5 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,064 32–11–5 69 Recap January 27–29 All-Star Break in Los Angeles 49 January 31 Minnesota 5–2 Edmonton Kuemper 18,347 33–11–5 71 Recap
February: 8–3–1 (Home: 5–2–1 ; Road: 3–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 50 February 1 Minnesota 1–5 Calgary Dubnyk 18,044 33–12–5 71 Recap 51 February 4 Minnesota 6–3 Vancouver Dubnyk 18,212 34–12–5 73 Recap 52 February 7 Minnesota 4–2 Winnipeg Dubnyk 15,294 35–12–5 75 Recap 53 February 8 Chicago 4–3 Minnesota OT Kuemper 19,326 35–12–6 76 Recap 54 February 10 Tampa Bay 1–2 Minnesota SO Dubnyk 19,178 36–12–6 78 Recap 55 February 12 Detroit 3–6 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,141 37–12–6 80 Recap 56 February 14 Anaheim 1–0 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,047 37–13–6 80 Recap 57 February 16 Dallas 1–3 Minnesota Kuemper 19,084 38–13–6 82 Recap 58 February 18 Nashville 2–5 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,292 39–13–6 84 Recap 59 February 21 Chicago 5–3 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,333 39–14–6 84 Recap 60 February 27 Los Angeles 4–5 Minnesota OT Dubnyk 19,118 40–14–6 86 Recap 61 February 28 Minnesota 6–5 Winnipeg Dubnyk 15,294 41–14–6 88 Recap
March: 4–10–2 (Home: 3–4–1 ; Road: 1–6–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 62 March 2 Minnesota 0–1 Columbus Dubnyk 15,987 41–15–6 88 Recap 63 March 5 San Jose 1–3 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,168 42–15–6 90 Recap 64 March 7 St. Louis 2–1 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,124 42–16–6 90 Recap 65 March 9 Minnesota 1–4 Tampa Bay Dubnyk 19,092 42–17–6 90 Recap 66 March 10 Minnesota 7–4 Florida Dubnyk 16,232 43–17–6 92 Recap 67 March 12 Minnesota 2–4 Chicago Kuemper 22,147 43–18–6 92 Recap 68 March 14 Minnesota 2–4 Washington Dubnyk 18,506 43–19–6 92 Recap 69 March 16 Minnesota 1–3 Carolina Dubnyk 10,894 43–20–6 92 Recap 70 March 18 NY Rangers 3–2 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,337 43–21–6 92 Recap 71 March 19 Minnesota 4–5 Winnipeg Dubnyk 15,294 43–22–6 92 Recap 72 March 21 San Jose 2–3 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,104 44–22–6 94 Recap 73 March 23 Philadelphia 3–1 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,004 44–23–6 94 Recap 74 March 25 Vancouver 4–2 Minnesota Kuemper 19,184 44–24–6 94 Recap 75 March 26 Minnesota 2–3 Detroit OT Dubnyk 20,027 44–24–7 95 Recap 76 March 28 Washington 5–4 Minnesota OT Dubnyk 19,188 44–24–8 96 Recap 77 March 30 Ottawa 1–5 Minnesota Stalock 19,044 45–24–8 98 Recap
April: 4–1–0 (Home: 2–0–0 ; Road: 2–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 78 April 1 Minnesota 0–3 Nashville Stalock 17,113 45–25–8 98 Recap 79 April 2 Colorado 2–5 Minnesota Dubnyk 19,164 46–25–8 100 Recap 80 April 4 Carolina 3–5 Minnesota Dubnyk 18,848 47–25–8 102 Recap 81 April 6 Minnesota 4–3 Colorado Dubnyk 15,565 48–25–8 104 Recap 82 April 8 Minnesota 3–1 Arizona Kuemper 17,490 49–25–8 106 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Player statistics

Final Stats

Skaters

Regular Season

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Mikael Granlund	81	26	43	69	23	12
Eric Staal	82	28	37	65	17	34
Mikko Koivu	80	18	40	58	27	34
Nino Niederreiter	82	25	32	57	17	53
Charlie Coyle	82	18	38	56	13	36
Jason Zucker	79	22	25	47	34	30
Jason Pominville	78	13	34	47	2	4
Zach Parise	69	19	23	42	−3	30
Ryan Suter	82	9	31	40	34	36
Jared Spurgeon	76	10	28	38	33	20
Mathew Dumba	76	11	23	34	15	59
Erik Haula	72	15	11	26	5	28
Jonas Brodin	68	3	22	25	5	20
Chris Stewart	79	13	8	21	3	94
Jordan Schroeder	37	6	7	13	5	0
Martin Hanzal†	20	4	9	13	−2	10
Marco Scandella	71	4	9	13	−2	25
Tyler Graovac	52	7	2	9	7	10
Christian Folin	51	2	6	8	10	26
Joel Eriksson Ek	15	3	4	7	1	4
Nate Prosser	39	2	5	7	0	12
Ryan White†	19	2	1	3	−8	14
Zac Dalpe‡	9	1	2	3	0	9
Gustav Olofsson	13	0	3	3	−1	2
Teemu Pulkkinen‡	9	1	0	1	−1	2
Mike Reilly	17	1	0	1	1	2
Christoph Bertschy	5	0	1	1	0	4
Kurtis Gabriel	13	0	1	1	0	29
Patrick Cannone	3	0	0	0	0	0
Zack Mitchell	11	0	0	0	−1	0
Alex Tuch	6	0	0	0	−3	0

Playoffs

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Zach Parise	5	2	1	3	−4	8
Ryan Suter	5	1	2	3	−3	10
Charlie Coyle	5	2	0	2	−1	2
Mikko Koivu	5	1	1	2	−1	0
Mikael Granlund	5	0	2	2	0	2
Martin Hanzal	5	1	0	1	−2	0
Jason Zucker	5	1	0	1	−1	2
Jonas Brodin	5	0	1	1	−3	0
Erik Haula	4	0	1	1	−2	0
Nino Niederreiter	5	0	1	1	−2	2
Jason Pominville	5	0	1	1	1	0
Nate Prosser	3	0	1	1	0	2
Jared Spurgeon	5	0	1	1	−1	0
Eric Staal	5	0	1	1	−1	0
Mathew Dumba	5	0	0	0	−1	2
Joel Eriksson Ek	3	0	0	0	0	0
Christian Folin	2	0	0	0	−2	2
Chris Stewart	5	0	0	0	0	0
Marco Scandella	5	0	0	0	−1	0
Ryan White	3	0	0	0	0	4

Goaltenders

Regular Season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Devan Dubnyk	65	63	3758:00	40	19	5	141	2.25	1842	.923	5	0	0	10
Darcy Kuemper	18	17	1053:02	8	5	3	55	3.13	562	.902	0	0	1	4
Alex Stalock	2	2	118:55	1	1	0	3	1.51	54	.944	0	0	0	0

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Devan Dubnyk	5	5	322:15	1	4	10	1.86	133	.925	1	0	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Wild. Stats reflect time with the Wild only.
^‡Traded mid-season

Awards and honours

Awards

Regular Season

Player	Award	Awarded
D. Dubnyk	NHL Third Star of the Month	January 3, 2017
B. Boudreau	NHL All-Star game selection	January 10, 2017
D. Dubnyk
R. Suter

Milestones

Regular Season

Player	Milestone	Reached
D. Dubnyk	300th Career NHL Game	October 15, 2016
J. Eriksson Ek	1st Career NHL Goal 1st Career NHL Point	October 22, 2016
Z. Parise	300th Career NHL Goal	October 23, 2016
J. Eriksson Ek	1st Career NHL Assist	October 25, 2016
T. Graovac	1st Career NHL Goal 1st Career NHL Point	October 29, 2016
E. Haula	200th Career NHL Game	November 12, 2016
M. Koivu	400th Career NHL Assist	November 21, 2016
J. Spurgeon	100th Career NHL Assist	December 2, 2016
K. Gabriel	1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point	December 7, 2016
E. Staal	800th Career NHL Point	December 11, 2016
C. Coyle	300th Career NHL Game	December 15, 2016
J. Zucker	200th Career NHL Game	December 20, 2016
J. Spurgeon	400th Career NHL Game	December 22, 2016
J. Brodin	300th Career NHL Game	January 5, 2017
M. Koivu	800th Career NHL Game	January 5, 2017
C. Folin	100th Career NHL Game	January 19, 2017
M. Dumba	200th Career NHL Game	January 26, 2017
Z. Parise	800th Career NHL Game	January 26, 2017
M. Granlund	1st Career NHL Hat Trick	February 4, 2017
G. Olofsson	1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point	February 12, 2017
J. Zucker	100th Career NHL Point	February 18, 2017
M. Koivu	600th Career NHL Point	February 18, 2017
M. Granlund	300th Career NHL Game	February 27, 2017
C. Stewart	300th Career NHL Point	February 28, 2017
R. White	300th Career NHL Game	March 9, 2017
M. Hanzal	200th Career NHL Assist	March 10, 2017
C. Coyle	100th Career NHL Assist	March 10, 2017
R. Suter	900th Career NHL Game	March 16, 2017
E. Staal	1,000th Career NHL Game	March 19, 2017
J. Pominville	900th Career NHL Game	March 30, 2017
M. Granlund	200th Career NHL Point	April 2, 2017

Transactions

The Wild have been involved in the following transactions during the 2016–17 season.

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
February 1, 2017 (2017-02-01)	To Ottawa Senators Marc Hagel	To Minnesota Wild Future considerations
February 26, 2017 (2017-02-26)	To Arizona Coyotes 1st-round pick in 2017 2nd-round pick in 2018 Conditional 4th-round pick in 2019 Grayson Downing	To Minnesota Wild Martin Hanzal Ryan White 4th-round pick in 2017
February 27, 2017 (2017-02-27)	To Arizona Coyotes Teemu Pulkkinen	To Minnesota Wild Future considerations

Free agents acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01)	Eric Staal	New York Rangers	3 years, $10.5 million
	Alex Stalock	San Jose Sharks	1 year, $650,000
	Chris Stewart	Anaheim Ducks	2 years, $2.3 million
	Pat Cannone	Chicago Wolves	1 year, $600,000
	Victor Bartley	Montreal Canadiens	1 year, $650,000
February 26, 2017 (2017-02-26)	Ryan Carter	Iowa Wild	1 year, $575,000
February 28, 2017 (2017-02-28)	Mike Weber	Iowa Wild	1 year, $1 million
March 29, 2017 (2017-03-29)	Justin Kloos	University of Minnesota	2 years, entry-level contract

Free agents lost

Date	Player	New team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01)	Thomas Vanek	Detroit Red Wings	1 year, $2.6 million
October 16, 2016 (2016-10-16)	Justin Fontaine	New York Rangers	1 year, $600,000

Claimed via waivers

Player	Former team	Date claimed off waivers	Ref
Teemu Pulkkinen	Detroit Red Wings	October 11, 2016

Lost via waivers

Player	New team	Date claimed off waivers	Ref
Zac Dalpe	Columbus Blue Jackets	February 27, 2017 (2017-02-27)

Player signings

Date	Player	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
June 29, 2016 (2016-06-29)	Jason Zucker	2 years, $4 million
June 30, 2016 (2016-06-30)	Zac Dalpe	1 year, $600,000
	Tyler Graovac	2 year, $1.25 million
July 5, 2016 (2016-07-05)	Darcy Kuemper	1 year, $1.55 million
July 11, 2016 (2016-07-11)	Zach Palmquist	1 year, $660,000
July 25, 2016 (2016-07-25)	Jordan Schroeder	1 year, $650,000
July 28, 2016 (2016-07-28)	Matt Dumba	2 years, $5.1 million
August 26, 2016 (2016-08-26)	Gustav Bouramman	3 years, $2.4 million entry-level contract
February 2, 2017 (2017-02-02)	Alex Stalock	2 years, $1.3 million contract extension
March 23, 2017 (2017-03-23)	Luke Kunin	3 years, $4.275 million entry-level contract
April 10, 2017 (2017-04-10)	Carson Soucy	3 years, $1.85 million entry-level contract

Draft picks

See also: List of Minnesota Wild draft picks

Below are the Minnesota Wild's selections at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, held on June 24–25, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	15	Luke Kunin	C	United States	Wisconsin Badgers (Big Ten)
4	106	Brandon Duhaime	RW	United States	Tri-City Storm (USHL)
7	196	Dmitry Sokolov	RW	Russia	Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
7	204[a]	Brayden Chizen	D	Canada	Kelowna Rockets (WHL)

Draft notes

• The Minnesota Wild's second-round pick went to the Chicago Blackhawks as the result of a trade on June 24, 2016 that sent Andrew Shaw to Montreal in exchange for a second-round pick in 2016 (39th overall) and this pick.

Montreal previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on July 1, 2014 that sent Josh Gorges to Buffalo in exchange for this pick.

Buffalo previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on March 5, 2014 that sent Matt Moulson and Cody McCormick to Minnesota in exchange for Torrey Mitchell, Winnipeg's second-round pick in 2014 and this pick.

The Minnesota Wild's third-round pick went to the Nashville Predators as the result of a trade on June 20, 2016 that sent Jimmy Vesey to Buffalo in exchange for this pick.

Buffalo previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 29, 2016 that sent Jamie McGinn to Anaheim in exchange for this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). The condition – Buffalo will receive a third-round pick in 2016 if Anaheim does not qualify for the 2016 Western Conference Final – was converted on April 27, 2016 when Anaheim was eliminated from the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Anaheim previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 26, 2015 that sent Kyle Palmieri to New Jersey in exchange for Florida's second-round pick in 2015 and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). The condition – Anaheim will receive the higher of either Florida or Minnesota's third-round pick in 2016. – was converted on April 24, 2016 when Minnesota was eliminated from the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs ensuring that the Wild's pick would be higher than Florida's.

New Jersey previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 26, 2015 that sent Jaromir Jagr to Florida in exchange for a second-round pick in 2015 and this pick.

Florida previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 24, 2015 that sent Sean Bergenheim and a seventh-round pick in 2016 to Minnesota in exchange for this pick.

• The Minnesota Wild's fifth-round pick went to the Boston Bruins as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015 that sent a fifth-round pick in 2015 to Minnesota in exchange for this pick.
• The Minnesota Wild's sixth-round pick went to the Calgary Flames as the result of a trade on February 29, 2016 that sent David Jones to Minnesota in exchange for Niklas Backstrom and this pick.
• ^[a] The Florida Panthers' seventh-round pick went to the Minnesota Wild as the result of a trade on February 24, 2015 that sent a third-round pick in 2016 to Florida in exchange for Sean Bergenheim and this pick.