Andrew Brunette

Andrew Brunette

Andrew Brunette (born August 24, 1973 in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada) is a professional ice hockey left winger who currently plays for the National Hockey League's Minnesota Wild.

Brunette debuted in the Ontario Hockey League playing for the Owen Sound Platers for three seasons between 1990 and 1993 and scored 233 points in 195 games, winning the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy, the scoring title, in 1993. He was drafted by the Washington Capitals in the seventh round, 174th overall, in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft.

After being drafted, he played for the Hampton Roads Admirals in the ECHL, before moving to the American Hockey League, where he played for two more teams that season: Providence Bruins and Portland Pirates. Brunette stayed with the Pirates until 1998, but was called up by the Capitals for the first time in the 1995–96 NHL season and played 11 games. He played 23 and 28 games in the following NHL seasons and left the AHL definitively when he was selected in the 1998 NHL Expansion Draft by new franchise Nashville Predators.

Brunette scored the Predators first goal in a 3–2 win versus the Carolina Hurricanes. After playing the 1998–99 season for the Predators, he moved to the newly created Atlanta Thrashers and played two seasons there, moving to the Minnesota Wild in the 2001–02 NHL season. He scored the final goal on Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy of the Colorado Avalanche in overtime of game 7 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals on April 22, 2003. Brunette stayed with the Wild until 2004 and signed as a free agent for the Colorado Avalanche after the 2004–05 lockout. He scored the series-clinching goal for the Colorado Avalanche on April 30, 2006, against the Dallas Stars in game 5 of the 2006 Western Conference Quarterfinals. 2006–07 was his best individual season: he averaged over a point per game for his first time in the NHL, playing with Joe Sakic. Andrew Brunette scored his 500th NHL career point on October 26, 2007, against the Calgary Flames.

Brunette signed a 3-year, $7-million deal with the Minnesota Wild on July 1, 2008. This marks his second stint with the Wild (2001-02 to 2003-04).

Brunette is highly regarded for his physical durability and consistency, qualities which lead him to play in 509 consecutive games without having to sit out due to injury. On December 31, 2001 he missed a game due to a shoulder contusion, however after that he proceeded to play in every single game until February 21, 2009, when a lower body injury forced him to sit out of a game between his Minnesota Wild and the Detroit Red Wings.

To the top

Nashville Predators

The Nashville Predators are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play their home games at Sommet Center, formerly known as Gaylord Entertainment Center and Nashville Arena.

Hockey first appeared in Middle Tennessee in 1962 in the form of the Eastern Hockey League's Dixie Flyers. One of the first tenants of the Municipal Auditorium, the Dixie Flyers played for nine seasons before folding in 1971. A decade later, Nashville Sounds owner Larry Schmittou made a second attempt at minor league hockey in Nashville when he brought the Nashville South Stars to town for the 1981-82 season. While featuring Bob Suter (Miracle on Ice team member and father of Nashville Predator Ryan Suter) as well as several of the parent club Minnesota North Stars' prospects, the franchise folded after just two seasons. In 1989, the ECHL Nashville Knights, perhaps the most popular of the minor league franchises, came to town. Coached by Predators assistant Peter Horachek, the Knights featured a potent offense that in 1994 set an ECHL record with 16 goals in one game.

In 1995, rumors began to circulate that the New Jersey Devils would be relocating to the planned Nashville Arena. Nashville offered a $20 million relocation bonus to any team that would relocate, and the Devils attempted to terminate their lease with New Jersey before finally restructuring it to stay put.

After the attempt to get the Devils, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman noted that Nashville would probably at least be considered in upcoming expansion..

In January 1997, a group led by Minnesota businessman Craig Leipold made a formal presentation before the NHL requesting an expansion franchise. When Bettman and league officials visited Nashville to tour the arena, thousands gathered on the Arena plaza to greet them. In June, the league granted conditional franchises to Nashville, Columbus, Atlanta and Minnesota. The Nashville team would be scheduled to begin play in 1998 if they met the NHL requirement of selling 12,000 season tickets before March 31, 1998. Of the four cities, Nashville was the only one with a completed arena, and therefore began play first. A month later, Leipold named former Washington Capitals general manager David Poile as the franchise's first general manager. Portland Pirates head coach Barry Trotz was named the franchise's first head coach on August 6.

On September 25, 1997, Leipold and team president Jack Diller held a press conference where they unveiled the franchise's new logo, a sabertooth cat (Smilodon floridanus). The logo was a reference to a partial Smilodon skeleton found beneath downtown Nashville in 1971, during construction of the First American National Bank building, now the Regions Center (Nashville).

Once the logo was unveiled, the franchise held a vote among fans to choose a name. Three candidates were culled from 75: Ice Tigers, Fury and Attack. Leipold added his own submission to the vote, Predators. On November 13, Leipold revealed at a press conference that his submission had won out and that the new franchise would be known as the Nashville Predators..

As of January, however, the Predators were still at least 6,000 tickets short of the NHL imposed 12,000 season ticket goal. Rumors began to circulate that the team would move before the first puck ever hit the ice. One rumor had Leipold trading franchises with the Edmonton Oilers, with the Oilers moving to Nashville and the Nashville expansion franchise moving to Houston, Texas. Leipold shot this rumor down, "There is no chance"..

When awarded a franchise, the Predators got a very lucrative deal. The city of Nashville paid 31.50% of the $80-million fee to join the league. The city also absorbs operating losses from the arena, despite the fact that the Sommet Center is operated by a subsidiary of the team.

The Predators first took the ice on October 10, 1998, where they lost 1-0 at home to the Florida Panthers. Three nights later, on October 13, they defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3–2 for their first win. Forward Andrew Brunette scored the first goal on a play that was reviewed by the video goal judge.

The Predators, in their first year of existence, finished second-last in the Western Conference with a 28–47–7 record, ahead of the Vancouver Canucks.

The Predators finished with an almost identical record to the previous season (28–47–7–7) and finished last in the West behind the Calgary Flames. During a game versus the New York Islanders on February 20, 2000, the Predators scored four goals in 3 minutes and 38 seconds.

The Predators opened with two games in Japan against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Each team won a game in front of the largest crowds ever to see a hockey game in Japan. Backed by the goaltending duo of Mike Dunham and Tomas Vokoun, Nashville finished the season in tenth place in the West, 10 points out of a playoff spot with a 34–36–9–3 record, for 80 total points.

A highlight of the season for the Predators was recording their 100th victory as a franchise on December 6, 2001. With that win, Nashville became the second-fastest expansion team of the 1990s to reach the 100-win plateau. The team was especially unlucky in overtime, finishing with a 28–41–13–0 record – good for 69 points and a 15th spot in the West.

In 2002–03, coach Barry Trotz broke the record for most games coached by the original coach of an expansion team (392 games). Nashville finished the season with a 27–35–13–7 record for 74 points, putting them well out of contention in the Western Conference in 14 place.

The Predators, under coach Barry Trotz, finished eighth in the Western Conference and made their first trip to the playoffs. The Detroit Red Wings beat them in six games in the quarterfinal.

The 2004–05 season was locked out by a labor dispute between the owners and players.

In 2005–06, the Predators set an NHL record by winning their first four games by one goal each (although two of those were shootout victories, which would have been tie games in previous seasons). They also became only the fourth NHL franchise to start the season 8–0; the last time a team did so was the Toronto Maple Leafs, who set the mark with a 10–0 start in 1993. The Predators set the franchise mark for wins in a season with a 2–0 shutout of the Phoenix Coyotes on March 16, 2006. In that match, Chris Mason became the ninth goaltender to score a goal. By the end of the season, the Predators had accumulated 106 points—their first 100-point season—and clinched home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs for the first time in team history. They finished the season with an NHL-best 32–8–1 record at home.

In the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Predators faced the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Quarterfinals. The Sharks beat them in five games.

The Predators acquired veteran center Jason Arnott from free agency on July 2, 2006. Arnott and David Legwand led the team in goals with 27 each. Late in the season the Predators traded two former first round draft picks Scottie Upshall and Ryan Parent, plus their first-round pick and a third-round pick in the 2007 draft, to the Philadelphia Flyers for five-time NHL all-star Peter Forsberg.

The Predators finished the season in fourth place in the Western Conference with 110 points, a franchise record. They were defeated by the San Jose Sharks in the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs Western conference quarter-finals for the second year in a row, losing the series 4 games to 1, for the second straight season.

They had the third best season overall behind the Buffalo Sabres, and the Detroit Red Wings.

After having their roster decimated during the off-season, multiple potential buyers, and rumors of the franchise potentially moving hounding the team until almost mid-season, the Predators were not expected to have a successful year. Chris Mason, former backup goaltender to Tomas Vokoun (who was traded to the Florida Panthers) had a shaky season, and shared net-minding duties with Dan Ellis. Ellis, who was signed from the Dallas Stars before the season began had a 233:39 long shutout streak (fifth longest in league history) nearing the end of the season that helped Nashville squeak into the eighth playoff spot with 91 points.

The Predators met the President's Trophy winning (and eventual Stanley Cup winners) Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs, and were defeated 4 games to 2 – their fourth straight first round knockout.

On May 23, 2007, Craig Leipold was reported to have reached a tentative agreement to sell the team to the Chairman and Co-CEO of Research In Motion, Jim Balsillie. At the time, Leipold indicated that the team would play the 2007-08 season in Nashville but that the future of the team after that was not clear. Balsillie had long been rumored to be interested in placing another team in Southern Ontario. The deal was expected to be finalized by late-June and had to be finished by June 30, 2007. The proposed re-location site was Hamilton, Ontario, with Balsillie's new company, Golden Horseshoe Sports & Entertainment (named after the portion of Southern Ontario centred around the west-end of Lake Ontario, which is known as the Golden Horseshoe), securing exclusive rights to bring an NHL team to Copps Coliseum, as well as the rights to operate Hamilton Place, the Hamilton Convention Centre, and the associated parking facilities for the next 20 years. Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger stated that Balsillie's intention was to bring an NHL team to Copps in Hamilton, and it was reported that Basillie would invest $140 million into the arena to bring it to modern NHL standards. Relocating to Hamilton, however, may have required compensation to be offered to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres because those teams have territorial rights to the region. Despite rumors to the contrary, it was reported that Kitchener-Waterloo was not being considered as a possible location for the team.

On June 13, it was announced that season ticket deposits for the "Hamilton Predators" would begin to go on sale through Ticketmaster the next day. A source said Balsillie's objective was to show the league's governors that there is a large base of ticket buyers in Southern Ontario. After the drive started, over 13,000 season ticket deposits were sold, including all of the 70 available corporate box deposits, costing $5,000 each. At the time, there were just under 9,000 season ticket holders in Nashville.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty stated the provincial government was willing to consider offering financial support if the team relocated to Hamilton. Hockey great Wayne Gretzky, a member of the NHL Board of Governors through his ownership of the Phoenix Coyotes, openly supported the team's move to Hamilton, stating that an NHL team in Hamilton would be tremendously successful.

On June 23, information was leaked by several sources indicating that Leipold no longer wanted to sell the Predators to Basillie. Leipold responded indirectly advising that a deal with Basillie was still possible. Mr. Basillie's lawyer, Richard Rodier, was quoted as saying Craig Leipold's letter to the NHL "changed little if anything" in regards to the pending sale and was a mere formality as part of the sale process. Canadian insiders believed that the information and delay tactics may have been because the league did not want a team to move to Canada, something the NHL denies. Meanwhile, at least one NHL governor referred to Basillie as a "clown" for taking deposits in Hamilton without having the ability to move the Predators and after making a joint statement with Liepold that there was no plan to move the club. This continued a pattern established by Balsillie previously when he withdrew his offer to buy the Penguins after promising to keep the team in Pittsburgh with no intention of fulfilling that promise.

On July 19, 2007, a group of local business owners known as Our Team Nashville held a rally at the Sommet Center to encourage fans to buy season tickets in order to help the Predators meet the attendance figures needed to keep the team in Nashville. They drew approx 7,500 fans and sold the equivalent of 726 full season tickets during the rally. The rally was heavily supported by WGFX 104.5 "The Zone" sports radio in Nashville.

On August 1, 2007, the group who had intentions to keep the team in Nashville delivered a letter of intent from Craig Leipold. After protracted negotiations with the city of Nashville, the local group headed by David Freeman reached an agreement with Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, and the NHL Board of Governors approved the sale on November 29, 2007. The $172 million acquisition of the Nashville Predators included repayment of existing debt of approximately $61 million and $2.2 million in fees and expenses.

If by the end of the 2009/10 season, the team loses at least $20 million or more in cash flow and does not average 14,000 per game in average attendance, the team can break its lease with the city of Nashville by paying a $20 million breaking fee. If the team is to be moved or sold, multiple cities could bid hard to attract an NHL team--Hamilton, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Houston, Oklahoma City, Seattle, Winnipeg and Portland, Oregon among others, although subsequent general economic conditions may have a material adverse effect on the interest or ability of individuals to purchase the team. These potential cities could be required to offer exceptional arena deals for an NHL team and face the challenge of trying to deliver a fan base superior to that in Nashville. Changes to the lease with the city that were deemed necessary by the ownership to keep the team viable were eventually passed on April 15th, 2008.

It was widely assumed that Del Biaggio's long term goal remained the ownership of a club in Kansas City whether this team be the Predators, another existing team or an expansion franchise.

In June 2008 Del Biaggio ran into legal trouble over a multitude of unpaid loans, culminating in him filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Furthermore, it is alleged that Del Biaggio acquired the loans he used to buy his stake in the team through fraudulent means, prompting an FBI investigation and criminal charges.

Under United States bankruptcy law a trustee was appointed sell Del Biaggio's assets, including his stake in the Predators to pay off his creditors. One report indicated that, perhaps as a last ditch attempt to avoid bankruptcy Del Biaggio solicited an offer from Balsillie to buy his stake in the team at a "significant premium". That deal was said to have collapsed after the NHL and/or the local group either blocked it outright or at least insisted on the annulment of all concessions given to Del Biaggio prior to any transfer of the stake to Balsillie.

Major North American sports leagues are expected to exercise "due diligence" before allowing anyone to acquire a large stake in a franchise, so Del Biaggio's bankruptcy is considered to be a serious public relations setback for the league. Furthermore, the commencement of bankruptcy proceedings arguably could affect the rights of the league and the other Predators owners to block the sale of Del Biaggio's stake to the highest bidder. Depending on the circumstances, a party could argue that the constitution and by-laws of the NHL could be superseded if a bankruptcy court determined that the league was trying to enforce its rules in a manner detrimental to the creditors' interests, although it is entirely unclear whether such an argument could succeed. Predators' owners disagree completely with this theory.

On February 24, 2009, Calgary billionaire W. Brett Wilson has entered discussions with Predators majority owner David Freeman with intentions to invest in their third sports franchise together. Wilson confirms that progress has been made in his plans to invest in the team, with a "handshake agreement" but to date, nothing in writing. The long disputed 27 per cent share that belonged to minority shareholder William J. "Boots" Del Biaggio III, is expected to be purchased by Wilson, with his eventual share in the Predators to be "nominal".

The Predators have announced that the team is expected to turn a small profit for the 2008-09 season despite the serious global economic downturn, and attendance is expected to exceed an average of 14,000 paid tickets per game.

The team practices at Centennial Sportsplex. For the 2007–08 season, the Predators updated their jerseys with new striping. The logo was left unchanged, and the colors were left unchanged. Nashville was added to the 'away' jerseys above the logo.

Fans of the Nashville Predators have modified a tradition of the Detroit Red Wings to show their support: on occasion, a fan will throw a catfish onto the ice. The Tennessean newspaper in Nashville cites the first instance of this on October 30, 2003. At least four catfish were thrown onto the ice after the first Nashville goal on November 13, 2003.

Section 303 is a section of notoriously fervent fans at the Sommet Center colloquially known as "The Cellblock". The group refers to themselves as "the loudest section of the loudest arena in the NHL". While no reports of relative sound pressure levels have been cited by the group, the section's predetermined motivating and demoralizing chants towards the home and visiting teams respectively can be heard from many locations within the arena.

The entirely fan-based organization has been recognized by the Predators' front office. A large banner was produced by the front office for posting on the wall behind the section. The organization maintains a website where chants tailored to the opponent can be reviewed before the game. The group also makes available merchandise through CafePress that reflects the Cellblock's brazen and supportive attitude.

The mascot of the Predators is Gnash, a blue saber-toothed cat. Introduced in 1998, his trademark includes stunts, such as very fast rappels, zip lines and a pendulum swing that takes him under the scoreboard and just inches off the ice.

Updated February 27, 2009.

Hall of Famers: The Predators do not have a Hockey Hall of Fame member from their team.

Retired numbers: The Predators have not retired any numbers. However, Wayne Gretzky's number 99 was retired league-wide at the 2000 NHL All-Star Game on February 6, 2000.

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

To the top

Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wild began play as an expansion franchise in the 2000–01 NHL season. As of January 3, 2009, the Wild have sold out every home game in franchise history at their home arena, the Xcel Energy Center.

Following the departure of the Minnesota North Stars after the 1993 season, the Twin Cities were without an NHL team for seven seasons. On June 25, 1997, the NHL announced that Minnesota had been awarded an expansion franchise, to begin play in the 2000-01 season. The six finalist team names for the new NHL franchise were: Blue Ox, Freeze, Northern Lights, Voyageurs, White Bears, and Wild. Jac Sperling was named Chief Executive Officer of the Minnesota team and Brian Skluzacek was named Chief Financial Officer.

It was officially named the Wild, the unveiling occurred in front of Aldrich Arena. The Minnesota Wild announced its first major sponsorship agreement with the Minnesota Wild Mastercard card from First USA. It was the earliest that First USA has ever signed an agreement in advance of a team beginning play (31 months). The State of Minnesota agreed in legislation to fund $65 million of the $130 million project costs for Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Saint Paul Civic Center deconstruction began soon thereafter and the Xcel Energy Center design was announced. A groundbreaking ceremony for the Xcel Energy Center was hosted in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The Minnesota Wild announced a 26-year partnership agreement with the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission (MASC). The Minnesota Wild-MASC partnership is the first partnership of its kind between a private professional sports team and a public amateur sports organization. Doug Risebrough was named executive vice president/general manager of Minnesota Wild and the Xcel Energy Center was completed and ready for use.

2000-01: The Minnesota Wild's first season officially started. The Wild named Jacques Lemaire their first-ever head coach and the team picked Marian Gaborik third overall in Round 1 of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. The team was not very successful on the ice, but showed promise for future seasons. The most notable game of the year, however, was the first visit of the Dallas Stars, who had formerly played in Minnesota as the Minnesota North Stars. The Wild rode an emotional record crowd of over 18,000 to a 6-0 shutout in Dallas' first regular season game in Minnesota since a neutral-site game in 1993.

2001-02: The Wild would get off to a strong start by getting at least 1 point in their first 7 games. However the Wild would finish in last place again with a record of 26-35-12-9. Along the way, there were signs the Wild were improving as second-year speedster Gaborik had a solid season with 30 goals, no sophomore slump, and Andrew Brunette led the team in scoring with 69 points.

2002-03: Gaborik spends much of the season vying for the league scoring crown, and the Wild, in their first ever playoff appearance, make it all the way to the Western Conference Finals before being swept 4-0 by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Previously, the Wild had beaten the favoured and third-seeded Colorado Avalanche in the first round in seven games, coming back from a 3-1 series deficit and winning both Game 6 and 7 in overtime. Brunette scored the series clinching goal. In the Western Conference semifinals, the Wild beat the fourth-seeded Vancouver Canucks, again in seven games, and again after being down 3-1 in a series. In the process, the Wild became the first team in playoff history to capture a seven-game series twice after facing elimination during Game 5.

2003-04: When this season started, the Wild were short-handed with both Pascal Dupuis and Gaborik holding out. After struggling in the first month, the Wild finally got their two young star left-wingers signed but both struggled to get back into game shape as the Wild struggled through much of November. In a deep hole the Wild could not climb back into the playoffs despite finishing the season strong with wins in 5 of their last 6 games as they finished last in the competitive Northwest Division with a record of 30-29-20-3. Along the way the Wild began to gear up for the future, trading away several of their older players who were a part of the franchise from the beginning, including Brad Bombardir and Jim Dowd.

2004-05: Season cancelled due to lockout. Former Wild player Sergei Zholtok died from a heart condition during a game in Europe. Zholtok died in the arms of Minnesotan and former Wild player Darby Hendrickson.

Minnesota finished in last place in the Northwest Division, eight points behind Vancouver; along the way Gaborik set a new franchise record for goals in a season (38), and Brian Rolston set a new highest point total by a Wild player in a season (79). The goaltender controversy between Manny Fernandez and Dwayne Roloson ended when Roloson was traded to Edmonton for a first round pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

The Wild signed veteran free agents Kim Johnsson, Mark Parrish, Branko Radivojevic, and Keith Carney. On the day of the NHL Entry Draft, they traded the 17th overall pick and prospect Patrick O'Sullivan to the Los Angeles Kings for veteran Slovak Pavol Demitra. Niklas Backstrom was the starting goalie for the Wild after previous starter Manny Fernandez sprained his knee on Jan. 20. Fernandez played for the first time since the sprain on Tuesday, March 6th and was removed after allowing three goals in two periods in the Wild's 3-0 loss to San Jose. Josh Harding, was brought up from the Wild's affiliate, the Houston Aeros, when Fernandez was hurt, and remained on Minnesota's roster for the rest of the season as the backup goalie. All-Star winger Marian Gaborik returned from a groin injury in January 2007 and made an immediate impact, bringing a new spark to a lacking offense.

The Wild made the playoffs in 2007 for the second time in team history but were eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks in the opening round. Notably, the same Anaheim franchise eliminated the Wild in their first playoff year, in the conference finals, in 2003.

The Wild broke numerous franchise records including most goals and points in a season (Marian Gaborik- 42 Goals and 83 Points). Also, Jacques Lemaire recorded his 500th career coaching win and the Wild clinched their first ever Northwest Division title in a 3-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on April 3, 2008. They again faced Colorado in the first round as sixth and third seed (as in the 2003 playoffs), but this time the roles were reversed, as this time the Wild held home-ice advantage. However, Minnesota came up short, being ousted in six games by the Avalanche.

During the offseason of 2008, the Wild re-acquired Andrew Brunette from the Avalanche, as well as trading for defenseman Marek Zidlicky. The Wild also signed free agents Antti Miettinen and Owen Nolan to multi-year deals.

The Wild home jersey has a small imprint of the team's primary logo inside a white circle, which is surrounded by the words "Minnesota Wild" in a larger ring against a green background. The rest of the jersey is predominantly red, with additional swatches of green on the sleeves. The away jersey uses a larger version of the primary logo without the concentric circles on a predominantly white jersey. The Wild have not had a third jersey since the NHL switched to the newly designed Reebok Edge jerseys in 2007.

The multi-functional primary logo of the Minnesota Nature Bear has been met with both praise and criticism. Applying an optical illusion that depicts both an environmental landscape and the silhouette of a wild animal, the Wild logo stands out from the rest of those in the NHL and most of North America's four major leagues.

The hidden components of the logo, such as the North Star that allegedly pays homage to the former Minnesota North Stars, and the questions surrounding the identity of the animal depicted, has sparked debate amongst logo enthusiasts, earning it recognition as one of the best logos in sport according to The Good Point. Some feel as though the form of the animal on the logo is that of a wild cat, while the majority view it to be a bear.

The Minnesota Wild is owned by Minnesota Sports & Entertainment, which is a limited partnership formed by former majority owner Bob Naegele Jr. of Naegele Sports, LLC in 1997. On January 10, 2008, it was announced that the franchise was being sold to former Nashville Predators owner Craig Leipold. The NHL’s Board of Governors officially approved Leipold’s purchase of Minnesota Sports & Entertainment (MSE) on April 10, 2008. Leipold, a resident of Racine, Wisconsin, completed the sale of the Nashville Predators to a local ownership group on December 7, 2007, a team he owned since the expansion franchise was awarded to Nashville in 1997. Under Leipold’s ownership, the Predators were dedicated to building a long-term winning franchise, playing an important role in the community through service initiatives, providing a fun and entertaining game-night experience and building strong relationships with their fans and corporate partners.

Leipold is the majority owner and principal investor in MSE, a regional sports and entertainment leader that includes the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, its AHL affiliate the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League, the National Lacrosse League’s Minnesota Swarm, Wildside Caterers, 317 on Rice Park and the facility management of Xcel Energy Center and the Saint Paul RiverCentre. He also serves as the team’s Governor at NHL Board of Governors’ meetings. The partnership still owns the Minnesota Swarm of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). Along with the Wild and the Swarm, the group also operates the Xcel Energy Center, the Saint Paul RiverCentre and Roy Wilkins Auditorium. The group has recently extended its business through a majority stake in Wildside Caterers. The partnership also owns and operates 317 on Rice Park, which is the former historic Minnesota Club.

Updated March 4, 2009.

Note: Since joining the NHL in 2000, the Wild have never named a permanent captain. Instead, the team captaincy is rotated on a monthly basis among several of its players each season, with some players serving multiple times.

Hall of Famers: The Wild's Head Coach Jacques Lemaire was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame (in the players category) in 1985. On April 3, 2008, he became only the 11th coach in NHL history to have 502 wins.

Retired Numbers: The Wild retired number 1, as a tribute to Wild Fans, on October 10, 2001. The number 99 was retired league-wide for Wayne Gretzky on February 7, 2001.

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

To the top

Owen Sound Attack

The Owen Sound Attack are a junior ice hockey in the Ontario Hockey League since the year 2000. The Attack are based in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada.

The Owen Sound OHL franchise was born when the Holody family moved the Guelph Platers to the city for the 1989-90 OHL season. The team kept the name of Owen Sound Platers.

The Owen Sound Attack were born in the late summer of the year 2000 as a community-based OHL franchise. When the Holody family decided to sell the Owen Sound Platers buyers were sought from any city.

Several local Owen Sound businesspeople realized that an out-of-town buyer would mean losing the team to relocation. The most mentioned former OHL city was Cornwall, Ontario. This local business group banded together to purchase the team. After a bidding war and a summer-long legal battle with another suitor, the team remained in Owen Sound.

The ownership group elected for a name change and came up with the more modern sounding "Owen Sound Attack". The 2004-2005 season was the best regular season in the OHL history of Owen Sound. General Manager Mike Futa was recognized by the OHL for his work in building the team with the OHL Executive of the Year award. The club also played host to the OHL All-Star Classic in 2005.

The current coach of the Attack is Mark Reeds, who was named to replace Mike Stothers, on July 31, 2007.

List of Owen Sound Attack coaches with multiple seasons in parentheses.

Andrew Brunette won the 1992-93 Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the top scorer in the OHL with 62 Goals, 100 Assists and 162 Points. He also tied for the Canadian Hockey League's scoring lead. Brunette was selected by the Washington Capitals 174th overall in the 7th round of 1993 NHL Entry Draft.

Jamie Storr was the 1993-94 OHL Goaltender of the Year . Storr was the starting goalie for back-to-back World Junior Hockey Championship Gold medals in 1993 and 1994. In the 1994 NHL Entry Draft he became what was then the highest-drafted goaltender overall in NHL history, by the Los Angeles Kings, 7th overall.

Dan Snyder, a former captain of the Owen Sound Platers, had his number 14 retired by the Owen Sound Attack in 2003. He is remembered in Owen Sound for his leadership on and off the ice. Snyder was twice voted his team's Humanitarian of the Year. Snyder died from injuries suffered in a vehicular accident in 2003 after just beginning his NHL career with the Atlanta Thrashers, and the Ontario Hockey League renamed its Humanitarian of the Year award posthumously in his honour.

The Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre received extensive renovations beginning in 2001. Private boxes and a restaurant were added, as well as upgrading the facility in general. The arena hosted the 2005 OHL All-Star Classic.

The Bayshore Community Centre is also home to the Owen Sound Greys of the Midwestern Junior B Hockey League, the Owen Sound Rams of the OLA Junior B Lacrosse League, and the Owen Sound Woodsmen of the OLA Senior B Lacrosse League.

To the top

Owen Sound Platers

The Owen Sound Platers were a junior ice hockey in the Ontario Hockey League from 1989 to 2000, in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada.

In 1989 the Holodys moved the Guelph Platers to Owen Sound, Ontario, retaining the name "Platers". The city of Owen Sound would be a strong base for junior hockey with disproportionately high support from the smallest city in the OHL. The city had a two time Memorial Cup champion in the Owen Sound Greys in 1924 & 1927, and the Owen Sound Mercurys were a long-standing OHA Senior Hockey team and 1954 Allan Cup Champions.

The best year for the Platers was the 1998-99 season. Owen Sound had a mostly veteran team that achieved their best regular finish in the club's history, and also played into the third round of the playoffs.

Despite many mediocre seasons, support for the team has remained strong. When the Holodys decided to sell the team in 2000, several local Owen Sound businesspeople banded together to purchase the team. Owen Sound fans realized that losing the team would be a crisis for the city. After a bidding war and a summer-long legal battle with another suitor, the team remained in Owen Sound. The ownership group elected for a name change and came up with the "Owen Sound Attack".

List of coaches with multiple seasons in parentheses.

Andrew Brunette won the 1992-93 Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the top scorer in the OHL with 62 Goals, 100 Assists and 162 Points. He also tied for the Canadian Hockey League's scoring lead. Brunette was selected by the Washington Capitals 174th overall in the 7th round of 1993 NHL Entry Draft.

Jamie Storr was the 1993-94 OHL Goaltender of the Year. Storr was the starting goalie for back-to-back World Junior Hockey Championship Gold medals in 1993 and 1994. In 1994 he became the highest drafted goaltender overall in NHL history in by the Los Angeles Kings, 7th overall.

Dan Snyder, a former captain of the Owen Sound Platers had his number 14 retired by the Owen Sound Attack in 2003. He is remembered in Owen Sound for his leadership on the ice, and off the ice. Snyder was twice voted his team's humanitarian of the year. The Ontario Hockey League renamed its Humanitarian of the Year award posthumously in honour of Dan Snyder, who died from injuries suffered in a vehicular accident with teammate Dany Heatley in 2003.

Seventeen alumni of the Owen Sound Platers graduated from the Ontario Hockey League to play in the National Hockey League.

Records listed for those achieved from 1989 to 2000.

The Owen Sound platers used the same logo as the Guelph Platers from 1989 to 1995 (inset right) only changing the name of the city. Owen Sound modernized its logo for the 1995-96 season (top of page), and used it until the team was sold in 2000.

The team colours remained the same throughout; black, gold, red and white. The home uniforms for Owen Sound were white back ground with black, red and gold trim. The away uniforms were black background, with red, gold and white trim.

To the top

Mikko Koivu

Mikko Sakari Koivu (born March 12, 1983) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward plays centre and is team captain of the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the younger brother of Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu.

After playing in the Finnish junior leagues, Koivu began playing for TPS of the SM-liiga as a seventeen-year-old in 2000–01. He was selected 6th overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild and continued to play with TPS Turku for three more seasons.

Koivu moved to North America in the 2004–05 to play for Minnesota's AHL affiliate, the Houston Aeros. The next season, he made his NHL debut with the Wild, scoring 21 points in his rookie season. In 2006–07, Koivu improved to a career-high 20 goals, 34 assists and 54 points. Injuries slowed him down in his third season; in a game against the Vancouver Canucks, defenceman Mattias Öhlund retaliated to an unpenalized elbow from Koivu and slashed him, breaking a bone in Koivu's leg. Ohlund was given a four game suspension and Koivu missed 24 games.

As part of the Wild's monthly rotating captaincy, Koivu began the 2008–09 season as team captain for the months of October and November. After being replaced by Kim Johnsson in December, he was announced as a permanent alternate captain for the remainder of the season along with teammate Andrew Brunette.. In January 2009, Koivu was once again honored with the Wild captaincy after only a month's pause. Despite the team not officially giving up on rotating captaincy, many fans view Koivu as the de facto captain of the Wild. The fact that Koivu was once again chosen to captain the team in March 2009 (with Andrew Brunette acting as captain in February) only strengthens this opinion.

On October 16, Koivu tied a Wild franchise record for most assists in a game with four against the Florida Panthers. He also added a goal for a career-high five-point game as the Wild defeated Florida 6-2.

As a junior, Koivu competed in two World Junior U18 Championships, capturing gold in 2000 and bronze in 2001. Koivu did double duty in 2001, also participating in the World Junior Championships, earning a silver medal while contributing 3 assists. He played in his second World Juniors the following year in 2002, tallying 5 points in 6 games as Finland captured another silver medal. It also marked Koivu's fourth and final medal in junior international play.

Before making his North American début in the AHL, Koivu competed in the 2004 World Cup as Finland finished runner-up to Team Canada. Two years later, he appeared in the 2006 Winter Olympics. Koivu failed to register a point as Finland finished with a silver medal.

Beginning in 2006, Koivu has appeared in three consecutive World Championships. He helped Finland to a bronze medal in 2006 with 4 points, then matched his output the following year with another 4 points in 2007 as Finland improved to a silver medal. In the 2008 World Championships, Koivu became a key contributor, tallying an international career-high 9 points in 9 games as Finland won the bronze medal.

Koivu holds the distinction of medaling in every international competition he has participated in with Finland.

To the top