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The last time the Wild advanced past the first round of the NHL playoffs, three of the mainstays on the blue line were Jared Spurgeon, Matt Dumba and Jonas Brodin.
While the Wild's postseason series drought isn't quite as lengthy as the Twins' drought was before last week, the playoffs in question came in 2015. The Wild got past the Blues before being swept by Chicago. Seven empty trips — six in the first round, one in the COVID season qualifying round — have followed.
Defensive continuity, though, has been a hallmark of the Wild's relative success during that time. All three of Spurgeon, Dumba and Brodin still played key roles for the Wild a season ago, eight years after that last playoff run.
And that will make this season — particularly the start of it — feel a lot different, as I talked about on Wednesday's Daily Delivery podcast with the Star Tribune's Sarah McLellan.
Brodin is the only one of the three who will lace up his skates for the Wild during Thursday's opener against Florida at Xcel Energy Center, and he will do so alongside a new defensive partner — fresh-faced up-and-comer Brock Faber.
That's because Dumba signed with Arizona in the offseason, becoming a casualty of an increasingly tight Wild salary cap from the Zach Parise/Ryan Suter buyouts that leaves them with less than $1 million in space and a bare bones roster at the season's start.
Part of the reason they are starting with the minimum 20 players is a preseason injury to Spurgeon, who will miss an undisclosed amount of time to start the year.
These are the six defensemen slated to skate for the Wild in the opener: Brodin, Faber, Jake Middleton, Alex Goligoski, Jon Merrill and Calen Addison.
This is not to say those six can't do a capable job, particularly in the short-term while waiting for Spurgeon's return, but it certainly will feel different from much of the last decade.
As forwards and goalies have come and gone, the blue line often has seemed like the glue holding together the Wild's ability to compete. We'll see if that continues this season.
Here are four more things to know today:
*We might have learned as much about the Twins in their 9-1 defeat Tuesday as we did in their previous playoff victories. Namely: For as poorly as Sonny Gray pitched, they still need someone like Gray in next year's rotation. And they need another dangerous professional hitter in the middle of their order.
*I talked about those things and more on both Tuesday's bonus podcast with La Velle E. Neal III and Wednesday's regular show.
*Kirk Cousins trade chatter is intensifying this week as the Vikings sit at 1-4 and Justin Jefferson heads to injured reserve. For his part Wednesday, Cousins said he pays very little attention to outside noise like trade talk. He said he even went so far as to get a flip phone a few years ago — after hearing former QB Andrew Luck did the same — in an attempt to stay insulated from news. After a few days, though, he went back to a smart phone.
*There will be another special Twins podcast after Game 4 tonight, plus the regularly scheduled Thursday show featuring Timberwolves beat writer Chris Hine.
