Minnesota Wild vs. North Stars

Minnesota Wild vs. North Stars

In Minnesota, It Feels Like the First Time

The State of Hockey Gets a Second Chance

Minnesota is called “the State of Hockey” because of the passion of its fans and the young, dedicated talent it has produced for well over a hundred years. To many, it seemed incomprehensible when the Minnesota North Stars moved south to become the Dallas Stars in 1993, and fans almost immediately started rallying to bring professional hockey back to Minnesota. It took seven years, but in 2000 the city of St. Paul welcomed the Minnesota Wild to Xcel Energy Center. It seemed all would be well in the State of Hockey. Then again, some cities (like Atlanta, which lost both the Flames and the Atlanta Thrashers) have lost NHL franchises twice. The Wild’s presence is not a guarantee, and enough time has passed to take a serious look at how well the Wild have succeeded in filling the North Stars’ void.

Comparing Two First Decades

The North Stars Arrive in an Era of Expansion

The Minnesota North Stars were added to the NHL in the 1967 expansion, which doubled the size of the league from six to 12 teams. Expansion was the league’s theme in the late ’60s and early ’70s, and by 1975, the NHL had grown to 18 total teams. Despite this uncertainty, the North Stars made a decent showing on the ice, reaching the postseason in six of their first 10 seasons, though they only made it out of the first round once.

The Wild’s Early Years on the Ice

The Minnesota Wild were added to the NHL in 2000 along with the Columbus Blue Jackets, bringing the league to 30 teams in total. The Wild also faced early uncertainty, though from a different source: contract negotiations canceled the 2004-05 season, which would have been their fifth. The Wild reached the postseason less frequently during their first 10 seasons than the North Stars did (only three times in 10 tries) but also went further than the North Stars, reaching the Western Conference Finals in 2003. The Wild also averaged more wins per season, with an average of 37 wins in their first 10 seasons compared to the North Stars’ average of 26 in their first 10 years. This suggests that the increase in the NHL’s size and talent level had more to do with their diminished playoff production than the team’s quality.

Success in the Stands

Of course, there are two sides to success for any professional sports team: success in the game and success among the fans. In the basic trends of their attendance, the Wild and the North Stars had remarkably similar first decades. Both teams had their highest per-game attendance in their fifth full season and their lowest in their tenth. Both teams ranked no higher than sixth in attendance compared to the rest of the league, and no lower than 15th. The difference is that when the North Stars were 15th in attendance, the league only had 18 teams, putting them close to the bottom of the pack. The Wild, meanwhile, maintained above-average attendance throughout their first 10 seasons. And while the Wild’s attendance was lower in 2010-11 than it was in 2005-06, it was only by an average of about 550 fans per game, equating to about a 3% difference. For the North Stars, the drop-off in interest between 1971-72 and 1976-77 was more severe: a drop of a little over 6,000 fans per game, a 41% decrease.

The North Stars’ Legacy and the Wild’s Future

The Minnesota North Stars ultimately played 26 total seasons before moving to Dallas, and like any team, they had highs and lows during that time. Though they never won a Stanley Cup, they did reach the Final twice, once in 1981 and again in 1991. Unlike other teams that have changed cities since joining the NHL, the North Stars were not relocated because of a lack of interest from their city, but because of a series of unfortunate financial disputes between the team’s owners and the city over arena upgrades and other development projects. Still, the State of Hockey seems well aware that if it loses its franchise again, it’s not likely to be given a third chance. In their first 10 seasons, the Minnesota Wild consistently saw higher per-game attendance than any other team introduced since the North Stars left Minnesota in 1993, including the Dallas Stars. That fact must feel something like vindication now that the Wild have returned professional play to the State of Hockey.