2007–08 Minnesota Wild season
National Hockey League team season
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The 2007–08 Minnesota Wild season began October 4, 2007. It was the Wild's eighth season in the National Hockey League (NHL). They won their first Northwest Division title this season.
| 2007–08 Minnesota Wild | |
|---|---|
Northwest Division champions | |
| Division | 1st Northwest |
| Conference | 3rd Western |
| 2007–08 record | 44–28–10 |
| Home record | 25–11–5 |
| Road record | 19–17–5 |
| Goals for | 223 |
| Goals against | 218 |
| Team information | |
| General manager | Doug Risebrough |
| Coach | Jacques Lemaire |
| Captain | Rotating Pavol Demitra (Oct.) Brian Rolston (Nov.) Mark Parrish (Dec.) Nick Schultz (Jan.–Feb.) Marian Gaborik (Mar.–Apr.) |
| Alternate captains | Rotating Brian Rolston (Oct., Dec.–Apr.) Wes Walz (Oct.–Nov.) Mikko Koivu (Nov., Jan., Mar.–Apr.) Nick Schultz (Dec.) Kim Johnsson (Jan., Feb.) |
| Arena | Xcel Energy Center |
| Average attendance | 18,568 (102.8%) |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Marian Gaborik (42) |
| Assists | Pierre-Marc Bouchard (50) |
| Points | Marian Gaborik (83) |
| Penalty minutes | Aaron Voros (141) |
| Plus/minus | Marian Gaborik (+17) |
| Wins | Niklas Backstrom (33) |
| Goals against average | Niklas Backstrom (2.31) |
Key dates prior to the start of the season:
- The 2007 NHL entry draft took place in Columbus, Ohio, on June 22–23
- The free agency period began on July 1.
Regular season
Divisional standings
| GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | y – Minnesota Wild | 82 | 44 | 28 | 10 | 223 | 218 | 98 |
| 2 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 44 | 31 | 7 | 231 | 219 | 95 |
| 3 | Calgary Flames | 82 | 42 | 30 | 10 | 229 | 227 | 94 |
| 4 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 41 | 35 | 6 | 235 | 251 | 88 |
| 5 | Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 39 | 33 | 10 | 213 | 215 | 88 |
Conference standings
| R | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | p – Detroit Red Wings | CE | 82 | 54 | 21 | 7 | 257 | 184 | 115 |
| 2 | y – San Jose Sharks | PA | 82 | 49 | 23 | 10 | 222 | 193 | 108 |
| 3 | y – Minnesota Wild | NW | 82 | 44 | 28 | 10 | 223 | 218 | 98 |
| 4 | Anaheim Ducks | PA | 82 | 47 | 27 | 8 | 205 | 191 | 102 |
| 5 | Dallas Stars | PA | 82 | 45 | 30 | 7 | 242 | 207 | 97 |
| 6 | Colorado Avalanche | NW | 82 | 44 | 31 | 7 | 231 | 219 | 95 |
| 7 | Calgary Flames | NW | 82 | 42 | 30 | 10 | 229 | 227 | 94 |
| 8 | Nashville Predators | CE | 82 | 41 | 32 | 9 | 230 | 229 | 91 |
| 8.5 | |||||||||
| 9 | Edmonton Oilers | NW | 82 | 41 | 35 | 6 | 235 | 251 | 88 |
| 10 | Chicago Blackhawks | CE | 82 | 40 | 34 | 8 | 239 | 235 | 88 |
| 11 | Vancouver Canucks | NW | 82 | 39 | 33 | 10 | 213 | 215 | 88 |
| 12 | Phoenix Coyotes | PA | 82 | 38 | 37 | 7 | 214 | 231 | 83 |
| 13 | Columbus Blue Jackets | CE | 82 | 34 | 36 | 12 | 193 | 218 | 80 |
| 14 | St. Louis Blues | CE | 82 | 33 | 36 | 13 | 205 | 237 | 79 |
| 15 | Los Angeles Kings | PA | 82 | 32 | 43 | 7 | 231 | 266 | 71 |
Divisions: PA – Pacific, CE – Central, NW – Northwest
bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, p – Presidents' Trophy winner
Playoffs
The Wild clinched a playoff spot for the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs, but lost in the Quarterfinals to the Colorado Avalanche, four games to two.
Schedule and results
Regular season
| 2007–08 regular season[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October
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November
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December
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January
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February
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March
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Legend: W Win (2 points) L Loss (0 points) OTL Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) |
Playoffs
| 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Western Conference quarterfinals vs. (6) Colorado Avalanche – Avalanche win 4–2
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Legend: W Win L Loss |
Player statistics
Skaters
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty Minutes
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| Marian Gaborik | 77 | 42 | 41 | 83 | 63 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| Pierre-Marc Bouchard | 81 | 13 | 50 | 63 | 34 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Brian Rolston | 81 | 31 | 28 | 59 | 53 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | ||
| Pavol Demitra | 68 | 15 | 39 | 54 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| Brent Burns | 82 | 15 | 28 | 43 | 80 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| Mikko Koivu | 57 | 11 | 31 | 42 | 42 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 4 | ||
| Eric Belanger | 75 | 13 | 24 | 37 | 30 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| Mark Parrish | 66 | 16 | 14 | 30 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Kim Johnsson | 80 | 4 | 23 | 27 | 42 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18 | ||
| Kurtis Foster | 56 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | SO | SV% | GAA | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | SV% | GAA | ||
| Niklas Backstrom | 58 | 3409 | 33 | 13 | 8 | 131 | 4 | .920 | 2.31 | 6 | 361 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 0 | .900 | 2.82 | ||
| Josh Harding | 29 | 1571 | 11 | 15 | 2 | 77 | 1 | .908 | 2.94 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.00 | ||
Awards and records
Records
Milestones
| Regular Season | |||||||||
| Player | Milestone | Reached | |||||||
| Mikko Koivu | 100th NHL PIM | October 6, 2007 | |||||||
| James Sheppard | 1st NHL Game | October 10, 2007 | |||||||
| Brian Rolston | 900th NHL Game | October 13, 2007 | |||||||
| Mark Parrish | 600th NHL Game | October 16, 2007 | |||||||
| James Sheppard | 1st NHL Assist 1st NHL Point | October 24, 2007 | |||||||
| James Sheppard | 1st NHL Goal | October 25, 2007 | |||||||
| Cal Clutterbuck | 1st NHL Game | October 28, 2007 | |||||||
| Aaron Voros | 1st NHL Game | November 11, 2007 | |||||||
| Aaron Voros | 1st NHL Goal | November 16, 2007 | |||||||
| Jacques Lemaire | 1000th NHL Game Coached | December 18, 2007 | |||||||
| Marian Gaborik | 5 Goal Game | December 20, 2007 | |||||||
| 300th Sellout Game in a row | January 16, 2008 | ||||||||
| Keith Carney | 1000th NHL Game | February 24, 2008 | |||||||
| Marian Gaborik | 400th NHL Point | March 7, 2008 | |||||||
| Marian Gaborik | 200th NHL Goal | March 15, 2008 | |||||||
| Benoit Pouliot | 1st NHL Goal 1st NHL Point | March 22, 2008 | |||||||
| Marian Gaborik | 40th Goal of Season Sets Franchise Record | March 30, 2008 | |||||||
| Jacques Lemaire | 500th Career Win | April 3, 2008 | |||||||
| 1st Northwest Division Title | April 3, 2008 | ||||||||
Transactions
The Wild have been involved in the following transactions during the 2007–08 season.
Trades
| June 30, 2007 |
To Boston Bruins Manny Fernandez |
To Minnesota Wild Petr Kalus 4th round pick in 2008 |
Free agents acquired
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Free agents lost
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Draft picks
Minnesota's picks at the 2007 NHL entry draft in Columbus, Ohio.[2]
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Colton Gillies | C |  Canada | Saskatoon Blades (WHL) |
| 4 | 110 | Justin Falk | D | Canada | Spokane Chiefs (WHL) |
| 5 | 140 | Cody Almond | C | Canada | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) |
| 6 | 170 | Harri Ilvonen | D |  Finland | Tappara Jr. (Finland) |
| 7 | 200 | Carson McMillan | RW | Canada | Calgary Hitmen (WHL) |