The Minnesota Wild is a professional hockey team that plays in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

The Minnesota Wild franchise was officially announced in 1997 by the NHL. Construction on the team's home arena, the Xcel Energy Center, began in 1998 after the state of Minnesota provided one half of the $130 million necessary for building costs. The team played its inaugural season in 2000-01, winning only 25 of 82 regular season games.

On May 22, 2009, the team announced that Chuck Fletcher, the assistant general manager for the Pittsburgh Penguins, would take over as general manager, filling the spot left by Doug Risebrough, who was dismissed in April.ESPN.com: Report: Fletcher to Replace Risebrough On April 13, 2009, head coach Jacques Lemaire stepped down after leading the team for their first nine seasons with the NHL.Official Site: Jacques Lemaire Steps Down, and was replaced by Todd Richards.

Though the Wild has never won a conference or league championship, it earned its first division title in the 2007-08 season. The team made its first playoff appearance in 2003, where it defeated the Colorado Avalanche and the Vancouver Canucks before being swept in four games by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the conference finals.

Since their inception into the NHL in 2000, the Minnesota Wild had only known one head coach, Jacques Lemaire. That changed at the end of the 2008-2009 season, as Lemaire stepped down after missing the playoffs. General Manager Doug Risebrough was fired soon after, leading to a complete overhaul of the team. Risebrough and Lemaire were replaced by Chuck Fletcher and Todd Richards respectively.