The Wild made their first Stanley Cup playoffs appearance in 2003, making a surprise run to the Western Conference Finals, but ultimately losing to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

The six finalist team names for the new NHL franchise (Blue Ox, Freeze, Northern Lights, Voyageurs, White Bears, and Wild), were announced on November 20, 1997.

The legislation also provided that only $48 million of the loan needed to be repaid if the team met the requirements to have an agreement in place during the lease term with the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission.

The Wild named Jacques Lemaire their first head coach and the team picked Marian Gaborik third overall in the first round of the 2000 NHL entry draft.

[12] The season ended with Scott Pellerin as the leading scorer with 39 points while Wes Walz, Darby Hendrickson and Gaborik paced the team with 18 goals each.

En route, there were signs the Wild were improving, as second-year speedster Gaborik had a solid sophomore season with 30 goals, including an invite to the NHL YoungStars Game, and Andrew Brunette led the team in scoring with 69 points.

[15] Gaborik spent much of the 2002–03 season vying for the league scoring crown before slumping in the second half, and the Wild, in their first-ever playoff appearance, made it to the conference finals before being swept 4–0 by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

[18] 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.

On the day of the NHL entry draft, it traded the 17th overall pick and prospect Patrick O'Sullivan to the Los Angeles Kings for veteran Slovak Pavol Demitra.

Fernandez played for the first time since the sprain on March 6 and was removed after allowing three goals in two periods in the Wild's 3–0 loss to the San Jose Sharks.

Josh Harding was brought up from the Wild's AHL 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.

[14] The Wild made the playoffs in 2007 for the second time in team history,[23] but were eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup champions Anaheim Ducks in the conference quarterfinals.

[14] Also, Jacques Lemaire recorded his 500th career coaching win[26] as the Wild clinched their first-ever Northwest Division title in a 3–1 victory over the Calgary Flames on April 3, 2008.

[33] Martin Havlat was signed via free agency after playing the previous three seasons for the Chicago Blackhawks in order to lessen the blow of Gaborik's departure.

[39] Despite a hot start to the season that saw them sitting atop the NHL standings in early December, multiple injuries to key players for extended periods effectively eliminated the team from playoff contention for the fourth consecutive year.

[43] In the same off-season, the Wild also signed unrestricted free agent winger Zach Parise, a Twin Cities native, and defenseman Ryan Suter to identical 13-year, US$98 million contracts.

Prior to the 2013 trade deadline, the Wild acquired Jason Pominville from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for prospects Johan Larsson and Matt Hackett, as well as draft picks.

After finishing in eighth place in the Western Conference, the Wild lost in five games to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks in the first round of the 2013 playoffs.

Even before the NHL's return to Winnipeg, Wild management had lobbied repeatedly for a move out of the Northwest Division, where they were the only Central Time Zone team.

Jason Pominville became the Wild's third player in franchise history to reach the 30-goal mark, with Mikko Koivu surpassing Marian Gaborik in all-time points for the club.

It began with Josh Harding leading the NHL in save percentage, and goals-against average, before being placed on injured reserve for complications with his multiple sclerosis (MS).

Winger Jason Pominville and defenseman Marco Scandella were traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for forwards Tyler Ennis and Marcus Foligno.

[54] Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Wild participated in the best-of-five qualifying round of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, but were eliminated in four games at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks.

They faced the division rival St. Louis Blues in the first round, but despite having home ice advantage and the services of recently acquired goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, were eliminated in six games.

In the following off-season, forward Kevin Fiala was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for the draft rights to defenseman Brock Faber, while other notable players such as Nick Bjugstad and Nicolas Deslauriers were lost in free agency.

On July 7, 2022, the Wild traded goaltender Cam Talbot to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Filip Gustavsson, five days after signing Fleury to a new two-year contract.

The Wild re-signed Gustavsson in the 2023 off-season but did not make any notable trades or acquisitions, opting instead to "run it back" with the previous year's squad.

PAUL) identifier around three symbols: a red Minnesota state silhouette with "MN" inside, and two wheat stars referencing Gemini, the twin constellation.

According to The Good Point, questions surrounding the identity of the animal depicted have sparked debate amongst logo enthusiasts, earning accolades for its unique complexity in North American professional sports.