The Detroit Red Wings are no longer the Avalanche’s biggest rival, but not because of anything the Minnesota Wild have done. The Wings no longer offer the Avs any resistance, a key ingredient in maintaining the vitality of any good rivalry. They don’t play in the same division, or conference any more for that matter. They won’t ever see each other in the playoffs, unless they both make it to the Stanley Cup Final, a tantalizing thought, but not enough to keep the rivalry alive.
The nostalgia of Avs vs. Wings from the late 90’s and early 2000’s is still alive, and anyone in Colorado worth their salt knows to always hate the Red Wings. However, the players who suited up in those jerseys, and made this the premier rivalry in all of sports for a decade, have since hung up their skates. The rivalry was already on thin ice, and the Wings bolting for the East has melted the rivalry pond into something more suitable for fishing or paddleboating… not hockey.
I would describe the Wild as more of an inconvenience, than a true bonafide rival at this point. Until these teams play some more meaningful games, and build up a bigger portfolio of intriguing story-lines, the pure blood-boiling level of hatred won’t be there.
The Avs have some nice candidates in the Central Division to replace the Wings on the Mile High hate-o-meter, including the St. Louis Blues, Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, and the Minnesota Wild. The Wild and Avs had an intense playoff encounter last year, with a lot of hatred displayed by both teams, especially after Matt “who kneeds him” Cooke took out Tyson Barrie.
So, have the Wild filled that void as the Avs’ biggest rival? In relation to the Colorado Avalanche, I would describe the Wild as more of an inconvenience, than a true bonafide rival at this point. So no, they don’t fill that void… at least not yet.
The two greatest accomplishments in Minnesota Wild history are a pair of upset FIRST round victories over the Avalanche, in 2003 and last season. Both series went the full 7 games, and featured heartbreaking over-time defeats for the Avs, but in the big scheme of things, these series were insignificant. The Wild and have only advanced beyond the second round one time in their existence, and they didn’t hang any banners in their arena either time they took out the Avs.
The fact of the matter is, no contest between the Avs and Wild in NHL history has actually mattered to anyone other than Wild fans or Avalanche fans. Avs fans can quickly brush off their setbacks against the Wild, because we’ve experienced much more agonizing game 7 defeats, and much bigger successes. Twice the Stars, who bolted from the great state of hockey by the way, sent the Avs packing a game away from the Stanley Cup Finals. The Avs and Wings had a heated playoff series almost every year during the peak of their rivalry, with the winner often capturing the Cup.
Minnesotans bask in the glory of de-railing the mighty Avs twice, while the Avs reflect on capturing two Stanley Cup titles. The point is, the Wild are still a blip on the radar of Avalanche history. They don’t matter, and most Avs fans don’t give a hoot about the Wild. Are they annoying, and disliked by me? Sure. But until these teams play some more meaningful games, and build up a bigger portfolio of intriguing story-lines, the pure blood-boiling level of hatred won’t be there. That’s what it takes takes to be a premier rivalry.
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The potential is there for the Avs and Wild to develop a heated rivalry. They both have some talented young players, play in the same division, and have fan-bases who love to butt heads. The Matt Cooke factor will surely stir the pot too in the short-term. The league looks like they are trying to facilitate things as well. The Avs and Wild open the 2014-15 campaign with a home and home set against each other. I actually think a strong rivalry with the Wild would be great for the Avalanche. Minnesota is a strong hockey community, with plenty of northern passion and craze for their adjective named squad. We’ll see what happens over the next couple of years!
Make sure and stay tuned with Mile High Sticking all week, as this post kicks off Minnesota Wild Hate Week. While I don’t think these teams are in elite rivalry territory yet, it’s still fun to hate on the Wild! We’re just doing our part to take this rivalry to the next level.