2000–01 Minnesota Wild season

2000–01 Minnesota Wild
Division	5th Northwest
Conference	Western
2000–01 record	25–39–13–5
Goals for	168
Goals against	206
Team information
General manager	Doug Risebrough
Coach	Jacques Lemaire
Captain	Rotating Sean O'Donnell (Oct.) Scott Pellerin (Nov.) Wes Walz (Dec.) Brad Bombardir (Jan.–Feb.) Darby Hendrickson (Mar.–Apr.)
Arena	Xcel Energy Center
Average attendance	18,328
Team leaders
Goals	Marian Gaborik, Darby Hendrickson, Wes Walz (18)
Assists	Scott Pellerin (28)
Points	Scott Pellerin (39)
Penalty minutes	Matt Johnson (137)
Plus/minus	Scott Pellerin (+6)
Wins	Manny Fernandez (19)
Goals against average	Manny Fernandez (2.24)

The 2000–01 Minnesota Wild season was the team's first season of play in the National Hockey League (NHL). One of the policies that the Wild implemented was never naming a permanent captain. Instead, the team captaincy was rotated on a monthly basis among several of its players each season, with some players serving multiple times.

Off-season

NHL Entry Draft

Minnesota's draft picks at the 2000 NHL Entry Draft held at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta.

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/junior/club team
1	3	Marian Gaborik (RW)	Slovakia	Dukla Trenčín Jr. (Slovakia)
2	33	Nick Schultz (D)	Canada	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
4	99	Marc Cavosie (C/LW)	United States	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (ECAC)
5	132	Maxim Sushinsky (W)	Russia	Avangard Omsk (RSL)
6	170	Erik Reitz (D)	United States	Barrie Colts (OHL)
7	199	Brian Passmore (C)	Canada	Ottawa 67's (OHL)
7	214	Peter Bartos (LW)	Slovakia	HC České Budějovice (Czech Extraliga)
8	232	Lubomir Sekeras (D)	Slovakia	Oceláři Třinec (Czech Extraliga)
8	255	Eric Johansson (C)	Canada	Tri-City Americans (WHL)

NHL Expansion Draft results

#	Player	Drafted from	Drafted by
2.	Jamie McLennan (G)	St. Louis Blues	Minnesota Wild
3.	Mike Vernon (G)	Florida Panthers	Minnesota Wild
6.	Chris Terreri (G)	New Jersey Devils	Minnesota Wild
7.	Sean O'Donnell (D)	Los Angeles Kings	Minnesota Wild
10.	Curtis Leschyshyn (D)	Carolina Hurricanes	Minnesota Wild
12.	Ladislav Benysek (D)	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	Minnesota Wild
13.	Chris Armstrong (D)	San Jose Sharks	Minnesota Wild
15.	Filip Kuba (D)	Calgary Flames	Minnesota Wild
18.	Oleg Orekhovsky (D)	Washington Capitals	Minnesota Wild
20.	Ian Herbers (D)	New York Islanders	Minnesota Wild
21.	Artem Anisimov (D)	Philadelphia Flyers	Minnesota Wild
24.	Stacy Roest (C)	Detroit Red Wings	Minnesota Wild
25.	Darryl Laplante (C)	Detroit Red Wings	Minnesota Wild
27.	Scott Pellerin (LW)	St. Louis Blues	Minnesota Wild
30.	Jim Dowd (C)	Edmonton Oilers	Minnesota Wild
32.	Sergei Krivokrasov (RW)	Calgary Flames	Minnesota Wild
33.	Jeff Nielsen (RW)	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	Minnesota Wild
35.	Jeff Odgers (RW)	Colorado Avalanche	Minnesota Wild
37.	Steve McKenna (F)	Los Angeles Kings	Minnesota Wild
40.	Michal Bros (F)	San Jose Sharks	Minnesota Wild
41.	Joe Juneau (C)	Ottawa Senators	Minnesota Wild
43.	Darby Hendrickson (C)	Vancouver Canucks	Minnesota Wild
46.	Jeff Daw (C)	Chicago Blackhawks	Minnesota Wild
48.	Stefan Nilsson (F)	Vancouver Canucks	Minnesota Wild
49.	Zac Bierk (G)	Tampa Bay Lightning	Minnesota Wild
51.	Cam Stewart (LW)	Florida Panthers	Minnesota Wild

Regular season

The Wild struggled offensively, finishing 30th overall in scoring (168 goals for), power-play goals scored (36) and power-play percentage (9.63%). They were also shut out a league-high 14 times. Combined with the six shut-outs earned in total by goaltenders Manny Fernandez and Jamie McLennan, 20 of the Wild's 82 regular-season games ended in a shutout.

Final standings

Northwest Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	Colorado Avalanche	82	52	16	10	4	270	192	118
2	6	Edmonton Oilers	82	39	28	12	3	243	222	93
3	8	Vancouver Canucks	82	36	28	11	7	239	238	90
4	11	Calgary Flames	82	27	36	15	4	197	236	73
5	14	Minnesota Wild	82	25	39	13	5	168	210	68

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Western Conference

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Colorado Avalanche	NW	82	52	16	10	4	270	192	118
2	y – Detroit Red Wings	CEN	82	49	20	9	4	253	202	111
3	y – Dallas Stars	PAC	82	48	24	8	2	241	187	106
4	St. Louis Blues	CEN	82	43	22	12	5	249	195	103
5	San Jose Sharks	PAC	82	40	27	12	3	217	192	95
6	Edmonton Oilers	NW	82	39	28	12	3	243	222	93
7	Los Angeles Kings	PAC	82	38	28	13	3	252	228	92
8	Vancouver Canucks	NW	82	36	28	11	7	239	238	90
8.5
9	Phoenix Coyotes	PAC	82	35	27	17	3	214	212	90
10	Nashville Predators	CEN	82	34	36	9	3	186	200	80
11	Calgary Flames	NW	82	27	36	15	4	197	236	73
12	Chicago Blackhawks	CEN	82	29	40	8	5	210	246	71
13	Columbus Blue Jackets	CEN	82	28	39	9	6	190	233	71
14	Minnesota Wild	NW	82	25	39	13	5	168	210	68
15	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	PAC	82	25	41	11	5	188	245	66

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific, NW – Northwest

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy; y – Won division

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	October 6, 2000	1–3	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2000–01)	0–1–0–0
2	L	October 7, 2000	1–4	@ Phoenix Coyotes (2000–01)	0–2–0–0
3	T	October 11, 2000	3–3 OT	Philadelphia Flyers (2000–01)	0–2–1–0
4	L	October 13, 2000	0–2	@ St. Louis Blues (2000–01)	0–3–1–0
5	L	October 15, 2000	3–5	Edmonton Oilers (2000–01)	0–4–1–0
6	W	October 18, 2000	6–5	Tampa Bay Lightning (2000–01)	1–4–1–0
7	L	October 20, 2000	1–3	San Jose Sharks (2000–01)	1–5–1–0
8	T	October 22, 2000	0–0 OT	Florida Panthers (2000–01)	1–5–2–0
9	T	October 24, 2000	2–2 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens (2000–01)	1–5–3–0
10	L	October 25, 2000	1–6	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2000–01)	1–6–3–0
11	W	October 27, 2000	3–1	Calgary Flames (2000–01)	2–6–3–0
12	L	October 29, 2000	2–3	Chicago Blackhawks (2000–01)	2–7–3–0
13	L	November 3, 2000	0–3	@ Edmonton Oilers (2000–01)	2–8–3–0
14	W	November 5, 2000	3–2 OT	@ Calgary Flames (2000–01)	3–8–3–0
15	L	November 7, 2000	0–2	@ Colorado Avalanche (2000–01)	3–9–3–0
16	L	November 8, 2000	0–1	Calgary Flames (2000–01)	3–10–3–0
17	W	November 10, 2000	5–2	@ Chicago Blackhawks (2000–01)	4–10–3–0
18	OTL	November 12, 2000	4–5 OT	Edmonton Oilers (2000–01)	4–10–3–1
19	L	November 15, 2000	2–3	New York Rangers (2000–01)	4–11–3–1
20	L	November 17, 2000	1–3	@ Buffalo Sabres (2000–01)	4–12–3–1
21	W	November 18, 2000	6–1	@ Boston Bruins (2000–01)	5–12–3–1
22	T	November 22, 2000	1–1 OT	Calgary Flames (2000–01)	5–12–4–1
23	W	November 24, 2000	2–0	Chicago Blackhawks (2000–01)	6–12–4–1
24	W	November 26, 2000	4–2	Vancouver Canucks (2000–01)	7–12–4–1
25	L	November 28, 2000	1–4	@ San Jose Sharks (2000–01)	7–13–4–1
26	L	November 30, 2000	0–2	@ Phoenix Coyotes (2000–01)	7–14–4–1
27	L	December 2, 2000	2–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (2000–01)	7–15–4–1
28	W	December 7, 2000	4–2	@ Chicago Blackhawks (2000–01)	8–15–4–1
29	OTL	December 8, 2000	0–1 OT	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2000–01)	8–15–4–2
30	L	December 10, 2000	1–2	Nashville Predators (2000–01)	8–16–4–2
31	T	December 13, 2000	1–1 OT	Carolina Hurricanes (2000–01)	8–16–5–2
32	L	December 14, 2000	1–2	@ Washington Capitals (2000–01)	8–17–5–2
33	W	December 17, 2000	6–0	Dallas Stars (2000–01)	9–17–5–2
34	T	December 20, 2000	2–2 OT	Ottawa Senators (2000–01)	9–17–6–2
35	W	December 22, 2000	4–3	Los Angeles Kings (2000–01)	10–17–6–2
36	W	December 27, 2000	5–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (2000–01)	11–17–6–2
37	T	December 29, 2000	2–2 OT	Phoenix Coyotes (2000–01)	11–17–7–2
38	W	December 31, 2000	3–2	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2000–01)	12–17–7–2
39	T	January 3, 2001	1–1 OT	Atlanta Thrashers (2000–01)	12–17–8–2
40	W	January 5, 2001	3–2 OT	Detroit Red Wings (2000–01)	13–17–8–2
41	L	January 6, 2001	1–5	@ St. Louis Blues (2000–01)	13–18–8–2
42	W	January 10, 2001	3–0	Washington Capitals (2000–01)	14–18–8–2
43	L	January 12, 2001	0–5	Colorado Avalanche (2000–01)	14–19–8–2
44	L	January 14, 2001	2–4	@ New York Rangers (2000–01)	14–20–8–2
45	L	January 15, 2001	0–3	@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2000–01)	14–21–8–2
46	W	January 17, 2001	3–2 OT	Columbus Blue Jackets (2000–01)	15–21–8–2
47	W	January 19, 2001	3–2	New York Islanders (2000–01)	16–21–8–2
48	L	January 21, 2001	2–4	New Jersey Devils (2000–01)	16–22–8–2
49	W	January 24, 2001	5–0	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2000–01)	17–22–8–2
50	W	January 27, 2001	4–1	@ Los Angeles Kings (2000–01)	18–22–8–2
51	OTL	January 30, 2001	2–3 OT	@ Vancouver Canucks (2000–01)	18–22–8–3
52	W	February 6, 2001	4–2	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2000–01)	19–22–8–3
53	L	February 7, 2001	1–2	@ Florida Panthers (2000–01)	19–23–8–3
54	W	February 9, 2001	2–1	@ Dallas Stars (2000–01)	20–23–8–3
55	W	February 11, 2001	4–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (2000–01)	21–23–8–3
56	L	February 14, 2001	1–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2000–01)	21–24–8–3
57	L	February 16, 2001	0–4	Los Angeles Kings (2000–01)	21–25–8–3
58	W	February 18, 2001	3–1	San Jose Sharks (2000–01)	22–25–8–3
59	L	February 21, 2001	2–6	@ Dallas Stars (2000–01)	22–26–8–3
60	L	February 23, 2001	1–4	@ Colorado Avalanche (2000–01)	22–27–8–3
61	L	February 24, 2001	1–2	@ Nashville Predators (2000–01)	22–28–8–3
62	L	February 26, 2001	2–5	Vancouver Canucks (2000–01)	22–29–8–3
63	T	March 1, 2001	1–1 OT	@ Calgary Flames (2000–01)	22–29–9–3
64	L	March 2, 2001	1–3	@ Edmonton Oilers (2000–01)	22–30–9–3
65	W	March 4, 2001	4–3 OT	@ Vancouver Canucks (2000–01)	23–30–9–3
66	T	March 6, 2001	3–3 OT	St. Louis Blues (2000–01)	23–30–10–3
67	L	March 8, 2001	2–6	@ New Jersey Devils (2000–01)	23–31–10–3
68	W	March 9, 2001	4–1	@ New York Islanders (2000–01)	24–31–10–3
69	OTL	March 11, 2001	2–3 OT	Detroit Red Wings (2000–01)	24–31–10–4
70	OTL	March 14, 2001	0–1 OT	St. Louis Blues (2000–01)	24–31–10–5
71	L	March 15, 2001	0–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (2000–01)	24–32–10–5
72	L	March 18, 2001	3–4	@ Colorado Avalanche (2000–01)	24–33–10–5
73	L	March 19, 2001	1–4	Dallas Stars (2000–01)	24–34–10–5
74	T	March 21, 2001	0–0 OT	Nashville Predators (2000–01)	24–34–11–5
75	L	March 22, 2001	2–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (2000–01)	24–35–11–5
76	T	March 25, 2001	2–2 OT	Vancouver Canucks (2000–01)	24–35–12–5
77	L	March 28, 2001	0–2	Phoenix Coyotes (2000–01)	24–36–12–5
78	L	March 31, 2001	1–4	@ Nashville Predators (2000–01)	24–37–12–5
79	L	April 2, 2001	2–4	@ San Jose Sharks (2000–01)	24–38–12–5
80	T	April 4, 2001	2–2 OT	@ Edmonton Oilers (2000–01)	24–38–13–5
81	W	April 6, 2001	3–2	Columbus Blue Jackets (2000–01)	25–38–13–5
82	L	April 8, 2001	2–4	Colorado Avalanche (2000–01)	25–39–13–5

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Scott Pellerin LW 58 11 28 39 45 6 2 2 2 Marian Gaborik RW 71 18 18 36 32 -6 6 0 3 Lubomir Sekeras D 80 11 23 34 52 -8 4 0 2 Wes Walz C 82 18 12 30 37 -8 0 7 3 Filip Kuba D 75 9 21 30 28 -6 4 0 4 Darby Hendrickson C 72 18 11 29 36 1 3 1 1 Jim Dowd C 68 7 22 29 80 -6 0 0 0 Antti Laaksonen LW 82 12 16 28 24 -7 0 2 1 Stacy Roest RW 76 7 20 27 20 3 1 0 1 Aaron Gavey C 75 10 14 24 52 -8 1 0 2 Sergei Krivokrasov RW 54 7 15 22 20 -1 2 0 1 Sean O'Donnell D 63 4 12 16 128 -2 1 0 2 Brad Bombardir D 70 0 15 15 42 -6 0 0 0 Cam Stewart LW 54 4 9 13 18 -3 0 1 0 Maxim Sushinsky RW 30 7 4 11 29 -7 3 0 0 Jeff Nielsen RW 59 3 8 11 4 -16 1 0 1 Willie Mitchell D 17 1 7 8 11 4 0 0 0 Andy Sutton D 69 3 4 7 131 -11 2 0 0 Ladislav Benysek D 71 2 5 7 38 -11 1 0 0 Peter Bartos LW 13 4 2 6 6 2 1 0 1 Roman Simicek C 28 2 4 6 21 -4 2 0 0 Sylvain Blouin LW 41 3 2 5 117 -5 0 0 0 Curtis Leschyshyn D 54 2 3 5 19 -2 1 0 1 Pavel Patera C 20 1 3 4 4 -8 0 0 0 Matt Johnson LW 50 1 1 2 137 -6 0 0 0 Steve McKenna LW 20 1 1 2 19 0 0 0 0 Pascal Dupuis LW 4 1 0 1 4 0 1 0 0 Kai Nurminen LW 2 1 0 1 2 -1 0 0 0 Jamie McLennan G 38 0 1 1 4 0 0 0 0 Chris Armstrong D 3 0 0 0 0 -3 0 0 0 Zac Bierk G 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 Brian Bonin C 7 0 0 0 0 -3 0 0 0 J. J. Daigneault D 1 0 0 0 2 -1 0 0 0 Manny Fernandez G 42 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 Derek Gustafson G 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Christian Matte RW 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 Mike Matteucci D 3 0 0 0 2 -2 0 0 0 Travis Roche D 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T/OT GA GAA SO SA SV SV% Manny Fernandez 2461 42 19 17 4 92 2.24 4 1147 1055 .920 Jamie McLennan 2230 38 5 23 9 98 2.64 2 1032 934 .905 Derek Gustafson 239 4 1 3 0 10 2.51 0 97 87 .897 Zac Bierk 60 1 0 1 0 6 6.00 0 27 21 .778 Team: 4990 82 25 44 13 206 2.48 6 2303 2097 .911

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

• Most points in a season, defenseman: 30 Filip Kuba, (2000–01)
• Most points in a season, rookie: 36 Marian Gaborik, (2000–01)

References

• Wild on Hockey Database