For much of the past decade, the Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks shared one of the NHL’s fiercest rivalries.
The Blackhawks were the team the Wild simply couldn’t get past. Chicago eliminated Minnesota from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in three consecutive seasons from 2013-15, with Patrick Kane playing a starring role each time.
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Whether it was his game-breaking skill, timely goals or ability to frustrate opposing fans, Kane became one of the most recognizable villains in Wild history.
But over the last several years, that rivalry has lost much of its edge. Minnesota is 18-1-1 in its last 20 games against the Blackhawks.
Chicago entered a rebuild after its championship core aged out, while Minnesota established itself as a consistent playoff team. Games between the two clubs no longer carried the same emotion or significance they once did.
Kane’s return to the Blackhawks changes that.
No, it doesn’t suddenly make Chicago a Stanley Cup contender, nor does it dramatically alter the Wild’s outlook in the Central Division. Minnesota will still be judged by how it stacks up against Dallas and Colorado.
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What Kane’s return does bring back is intrigue.
Every Wild-Blackhawks matchup now has another storyline. Kane returns to the franchise where he became one of the greatest players in NHL history, while Connor Bedard continues his development as the face of Chicago’s next era.
On the other side, the Wild are trying to prove they’re ready to take another step as legitimate contenders in the Western Conference.
That’s a far more compelling matchup than what fans have seen in recent seasons.
There’s also a nostalgia factor that can’t be ignored.
Wild fans haven’t forgotten the playoff battles of the early 2010s. Kane scored several memorable goals against Minnesota and always seemed to save some of his best performances for games against the Wild. While many of the players from those series have moved on, the memories haven’t.
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Seeing Kane back in a Blackhawks sweater when he visits Grand Casino Arena will undoubtedly bring some of those emotions back.
At the same time, these games now represent a meeting between two very different stages of team building.
Chicago is hoping its young core, led by Bedard, eventually returns the franchise to contention. Minnesota, meanwhile, is trying to capitalize on the prime years of Kirill Kaprizov, Quinn Hughes, Brock Faber, Matt Boldy and the rest of its current core.
The stakes may not be the same as they were a decade ago, but the entertainment value should be.
For the first time in years, Wild-Blackhawks games feel like they’ll have a little extra buzz. Fans will get another chance to watch one of hockey’s all-time great American players return to the team where he became a legend, while seeing how Minnesota measures up against a Chicago club beginning to show signs of life.
The rivalry isn’t back to where it was during the Stanley Cup playoff battles.
But thanks to Kane’s return, it’s a lot more fun than it was a week ago.
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