The Wild Have Corrected A Longstanding Self-Inflicted Burden

As the dynamics of an NHL season continue to evolve, trends and patterns start to form.

Only ten or so games into the year, early trends may not hold through an 82-game season. What’s true now may not be true later, and vice versa. However, the Minnesota Wild would be wise to stay out of the penalty box all season. 

A major ingredient to the Wild’s formula driving their fast start has been their disciplined approach to limiting pointless penalties, which had put them at a disadvantage.

Through nine games in 2024-25, the Wild have spent the least time in the penalty box in the NHL. They’ve only sat 41 minutes through eight games, a stark contrast from last season.

The team had yet to commit a major penalty until they visited Pittsburgh, where Brock Faber thought he’d have some words with Sidney Crosby. However, he had to drop the gloves with Jack St. Ivany as payment. 

The Wild were one of six teams in the league without a major until Faber’s five for fighting. They added nine additional penalty minutes on three penalties during an uncharacteristic night. Still, Minnesota’s intent is clear this season. They want to limit penalties to maintain full strength and take advantage of the power play. That’s simple enough, and it's working at 6-1-2 in the first month.

Last spring, The Athletic reported that “the Wild have coughed up seven one- or two-goal third-period leads for 11 lost points in the standings.” 

By the end of the year, they missed a playoff spot by exactly 11 points. Last season, the Wild were the third-highest penalized team in the NHL with 938. They had the third-worst penalty kill at 74.5%. A combination that can derail a season and contributed to the Wild’s disappointing year.

Several teams in the league prefer to keep their opponents honest. The New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins, and Utah are all pushing 120 PIM in 10 games or less this season. Still, there are several reasons the Wild’s new-found approach makes sense. 

First, it indicates discipline. That comes from Hynes, a details-oriented coach. It’s no coincidence that the Wild ended last season as the third-most penalized team. They also started this year's first ten games tied as the least penalized team, largely with the same group. That reveals their intent, and they are reaping the early results of their disciplined approach. 

The Wild completed a seven-game road trip and committed only 31 penalty minutes while winning five of the seven games – one in overtime. That’s just 4.4 penalty minutes per game, including their nine minutes in Pittsburgh. Last week, they beat the defending champion Florida Panthers on their rink 5-1 while committing no penalties.

Many Western Conference teams are disciplined, and those are the teams the Wild are competing against now and could likely face in the postseason. As of Wednesday, the Dallas Stars, Vegas Golden Knights, St. Louis Blues, and Winnipeg Jets are among the top 10 lowest-penalty minutes this season.

The Wild are also trying not to leave their atrocious penalty kill exposed. A concerning area of the team from last season has carried over to this campaign. The team’s PK% sits at 70.6%, the fifth-worst in the league, and below last year’s unit was third-worst. Ultimately, the team can’t afford to sit in the penalty box.

Conversely, the Wild have been elite when they can get on the power play. With eight power play goals entering Tuesday, they sat tied for sixth in the league with a 30.8% success rate with the extra man. That number dropped to 25.8% and seventh overall after failing to score with the man advantage in Pittsburgh. Still, seeing the team find chemistry on their power play is a good sign.

The Minnesota Wild are doing a lot well early in the season. Now that they have proven they can win with a disciplined approach, they must engrain it into the team’s identity and rely on it. 

Hynes wants the team to play fast and organized. That requires discipline and consistency to execute effectively, and they are. They want to escape their zone quickly and use speed to spring their wingers into the offensive zone. However, they can’t execute that style of play from the penalty box.