Unlike the Blues, the Minnesota Wild don’t have a long history of suffering without a Stanley Cup Finals win. But, the main difference between the Blues and the Wild is that Minnesota keeps getting their hopes up for seemingly no reason, dating back to the days with the Minnesota Northstars.
The rise of the Wild started back in the mid 2000’s with upstart forward Marian Gaborik leading the way for them to make the first Western Conference Finals appearance in franchise history. Minnesota dished out Gaborik just a few years to the New York Rangers, after Minnesota’s second playoff appearance
Moreover, the team that knocked out the Wild in their first playoff appearance, the Anaheim Ducks in 2003, actually knocked them out four years later. Anaheim would eventually win the 2007 Stanley Cup, over the Ottawa Senators, after getting past the Wild.
Much like the Blues, the Wild are still relevant in contention in the West. They have a ton of talent, but some of their best players are aging out of their prime. The clock is ticking before the Wild are going to have to start a rebuild. Hopefully for their fan base, they’ll bring home some hardware before that happens.