Greetings, Folks. Long time no see. Thought I’d jump on here and point out a few idiosyncrasies in the Minnesota Wild’s 2022-23 schedule, recently released:
— Like to see Edmonton? Look fast! All 3 games vs. the Oilers (2 in St. Paul) will be between Dec. 1-12.
— Only two games (both vs. Colorado) between the Wild and last season’s final 4 teams after Feb. 1st.
— For once, the annual Florida trip is during a time when snowbird Minnesotans can actually enjoy Florida (Jan. 21 and 24).
— Thinking of the game in Vegas? You might want to think again. Reason: the game is scheduled for April 1, right in the middle of the NCAA Mens Division 1 Basketball Tournament. Hotel rooms will run about $300/night and up. Way, way up.
— How about Arizona? Brand new arena, on the correct side of town (Tempe, so no more Glendale); however, the arena they’ll play in for the next two-plus seasons (Arizona State’s new D-1 facility) only seats 5,000. Tickets will start at $100 each (plus fees) and go sharply up from there. It will be interesting when cold-weather teams (like the Wild and Blackhawks), who have plenty of residents who escape rotten Midwest winters overrun the local residential fandom.
And now, as promised, my list of the road trips you want to do:
October: 25-30. At Montréal, at Ottawa, at Detroit, at Chicago. Given the Wild’s record against the Eastern Conference last season, this should be a fun trip. And, not too cold!
ADDED: Nov 8-9-11. At LA Kings, At Anaheim, At Seattle. 3 games vs. Pacific teams that the Wild have handled relatively easily last season. SoCal in November? Nice. Seattle? Bring raincoats.
Jan 10 & 12. New York, New York, Two games in 3 nights vs. the Rangers and Islanders. Might not be the holidays, but who doesn’t love a shopping trip?
Jan. 17-24. At Washington, at Carolina, at Florida, at Tampa Bay. This could be a really good trip…or a total disaster. Wild were 14-2 vs. the Metropolitan Division last season.
March 21 & 23. At New Jersey, at Philadelphia. Will either of these two teams show any sign of hope? Of course, now that I say that, the Wild do seem to be the franchise which breathes life into otherwise moribund playoff hopes.
March 29, April 1. At Colorado, at Vegas. If you can afford the Vegas hotels (see above) this could be the Wild fighting for their playoff lives… or not. Who knows?
Even if you can’t afford a road trip, two seven-game home stands will satisfy any Wild fan’s hockey jones; one over the Thanksgiving period, the other will keep you tied down from Feb. 9-21, with a home game. Every. Other. Night.
And don’t forget there’s EIGHT different home game starting times!
Get ready...this is going to be a hell of a season... hopefully...
