Wild vs. Blackhawks- The Rivalry That Isn't

Wild owner Craig Leopold wants it. Leopold reportedly had an opportunity to host a Stadium Series game against the Dallas Stars. Leopold declined the league's offer, hoping to get a sexier match-up with the Blackhawks, eventually getting his wish. A rivalry with the marquee Blackhawks offers a marketing opportunity for the Wild.

The NHL wants it. The league realigned their divisions, brought back divisional playoffs, and routinely force Minnesota and Chicago onto NBC's "Rivalry Nights." They didn't do this just to facilitate the Wild-Blackhawks rivalry, but the opportunity to revive long-dormant feuds like Minnesota-Chicago was no doubt a huge motivation in these recent changes to the NHL.

All of this has the makings of a classic rivalry. The only problem? It hasn't quite caught on. Why?

No Bad Blood

Obviously, a potential career-threatening injury isn't necessary to produce a rivalry. But some sort of controversial happening in a big moment is almost required to forge the kind of rivalry fans want to see. This hasn't happened, and thus the feelings these teams have for each other appear to be mutual respect. That's the Kiss of Death for an aspiring rivalry.

Style of Play

That there are few charged moments between these two teams almost certainly stems from the style of play both Minnesota and Chicago prefer. Chicago finished 29th in hits during the regular season. Minnesota? 30th. The Blackhawks and Wild want to avoid a physical match so that their skill players have the freedom to rule the day, and they've been only too happy to oblige each other.

It's good news for the Wild, as they get to play "their game". The downside is that by design, neither team plays the chippy, physical game that correlates to historic rivalries.

Little Success for the Wild

While there are some rivalries where one team consistently gets the better of the other, most involve either both teams winning roughly equally, or one team losing to- and eventually surpassing- their rival.

The Wild are basically the Blackhawks' little brother right now. They both play similar styles, but the Blackhawks are older, more experienced, and- at least up to this point- are better. The Blackhawks are a standard that the Wild are aspiring to be, but until they actually defeat Chicago, the Blackhawks (or at least their fanbase) won't see the Wild as their equal.

All of this could change during the course of the upcoming series. There could be a controversial moment, emotions could finally spill over, or the Wild could win. Anything can happen. After all, who knew that the Wild's series against Colorado last year would create so much animosity?

But as of now, the rivalry that everyone so desperately wants to be created between the Wild and the Blackhawks doesn't exist. And it's a shame, because it's one that would inspire a lot of passion between the fanbases, and add a lot more intrigue to what should be an exciting match-up between two very good teams.