Wilderness Talk

How should the Minnesota Wild handle their lineup over the last five regular season games with the #2 seed in the Central Division in reach? The Wilderness Talk guys are back and spend the next half hour debating their opinions on if rest is more important that home-ice advantage. Join Luke Sims, Justin Hein, and Justin Wiggins in their final regular season show before the playoffs begin!

The Wild continue to play mediocre hockey, but maybe it's just them preparing for the most anticipated playoff run in their history? Justin Wiggins and Luke Sims are joined by Jaydon Heymuth as our guest this week to break down the recent line tinkering by head coach John Hynes. Will they stick with them come playoff time?

The Wilderness Talk guys are back and ready to give their early reactions to how the new additions at the trade deadline have fit into the lineup. From Bobby Brink to Nick Foligno and Michael McCarron, did the Wild add enough talent to make a serious run this spring? Luke Sims, Justin Hein, and Justin Wiggins are here to break it down, as well as their reactions to the poor home stand over the weekend.

The NHL trade deadline is this Friday and the Wilderness Talk guys are here to break it all down! From Vincent Trocheck, to Charlie Coyle, to Robert Thomas, Justin Hein, Luke Sims, and Justin Wiggins discuss their top targets and the assets it would take. Plus, a brief Olympic recap and just how in the World Luke sustained a concussion while moving.

Wilderness Talk is back and the guys preview bracket play as the Olympics get into the knockout round. Team USA left group play unscathed, but do they have the firepower to make it to the Gold Medal game and finally end their 46 year gold medal drought? Plus, which Minnesota Wild players in Italy have impressed us the most? Listen in as we predict our Gold, Silver, and Bronze medal winners the rest of the way!

It's been a looooong wait, but best-on-best in the Olympics is back! Justin Hein, Luke Sims, and Justin Wiggins discuss Team USA's chances in Italy as the Olympic Hockey games begin this week. Can Team USA finally slay the dragon that is Canada? Are we worried about the health of Minnesota Wild players after the Olympics? And was the break unfortuante timing with Kirill Kaprizov playing the best hockey of the season?

The Wilderness Talk boys are back and ready to call out the Minnesota Wild on some defensive issues. Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber have been filling up the scoresheet since Hughes' arrival, but can they be doing more in their own zone? Plus, the guys discuss how the 4th line needs a facelift ahead of the playoffs.

The Wilderness Talk guys are back! Luke has a HUGE announcement to start and then the boys discuss the up and down month for the Wild that was January. What's working and what isn't? And it can't be a Minnesota Wild pod in late January without some trade rumor discussion. Join Justin Hein, Luke Sims, and Justin Wiggins on the latest episode of Wilderness Talk.

Who can't the Minnesota Wild beat these days (other than Colorado)???? The State of Hockey is buzzing with excitement over the recent play of their team, and so are we. Join Luke Sims, Justin Hein, and Justin Wiggins as they recap the last week and dive into why the Colorado loss really isn't a big deal for the surging Wild.

Bill Guerin and the Minnesota Wild just made the biggest trade in franchise history and the Wilderness Talk guys are here to break it down! Justin Hein, Luke Sims, and Justin Wiggins are joined by special guest Tony Abbott to break down just what adding Quinn Hughes does for the Wild's Stanley Cup window. They discuss everything from the trade itself, what Hughes does for the Wild, and what this addition means for their potential playoff chances. If you want to watch the highlight video Tony mentions on the show, WATCH HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEaQjChy7LM&t

The University of Miami is in the College Football Playoffs! The Wilderness Talk guys made a mistake recording this week's episode right as Luke Sims heard the news. To say he brought some extra energy was an understatement. But he, Justin Hein, and Justin Wiggins dive deep into the couple players in the NHL who are avaialable for trade right now, as well as reacting to the Wild games this past week before finishing with some epic Minnesota Wild trivia.

The Wilderness Talk guys debate everyone's favorite Minnesota Wild topic: Goaltenders! Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt are both playing well and Justin Hein, Luke Sims, and Justin Wiggins debate how the rotation should play out. Plus they go deep into the controversary following the Minnesota Wild's big win over the Colorado Avalanche.

The Minnesota Wild are red hot in November and the Wilderness Talk guys are here to discuss what they "know for sure" about the Wild and what they "think they know" about the team. Justin Hein, Luke Sims, and Justin Wiggins share their thoughts and Luke has a crazy story about selling a recreational vehicle online in Canada.

Mats Zuccarello has returned to the Minnesota Wild lineup and provided the spark they were hoping for, as the Wild start to look like their normal selves again. The Wilderness Talk guys discuss his impact, the forward depth, and just what to do about the logjam the Wild find themselves with on defense in this week's episode.

The Minnesota Wild finally snap their losing streak with a win over the reeling and injured Vancouver Canucks. Are there signs of the Wild getting back on track or do they have more to prove? The Wilderness Talk guys discuss in our latest episode as Justin Hein attempts to get through an episode with wicked allergies.

Luke Sims is out, but Tony Abbott is filling in! Tony joins the two Justin's this week to discuss the Wild's struggles so far at 5-on-5 and if they can fix the issue internally.

The Wilderness Talk guys recap the the first two games of the Minnesota Wild's season after starting 1-1-0 out of the gate. From the dominance of the power play to the absence of Mats Zuccarello being felt, immediate reactions are in no short supply.

The season opener is tonight! And the Wilderness Talk fellas are here to provide their 2025-26 Minnesota Wild season preview! Justin Hein, Luke Sims, and Justin Wiggins discuss their breakout player, who could regress, where the Wild finish in the Central Division and so much more! It's time for the Wild to become true contenders in the NHL, and the guys are here to manifest it.

Following the bombshell news last week that Kirill Kaprizov turned down the largest contract offer in NHL history, the Wilderness Talk guys debate if it's just a negotiating tactic, or if perhaps we've already seen Kaprizov play his last game in a Minnesota Wild sweater.

The Wilderness Talk guys recap the Minnesota Wild's free agency and discuss the ongoing Marco Rossi contract negotiations. But first, Luke shares his chicken sausage story from the 4th of July.

Free agency is almost here! And although it's shaping up to be a relatively thin free agent market, there are a few splashes that would excite Minnesota Wild fans. Justin Hein, Luke Sims, and Justin Wiggins dive into what's even possible for the Wild at this point. Although recording the morning after his Beer Olympics day was maybe not the best idea for Hein.

We're BACK! Justin Hein, Luke Sims, and Justin Wiggins debate what the first moves of the offseason might be for the Minnesota Wild, including what will happen with Marco Rossi's future in the State of Hockey. Sims and Wiggins brought the content, Hein brought the mustache.

Justin Hein, Luke Sims, and Justin Wiggins are back for their final recap of the 2024-25 Minnesota Wild before we turn our attention to the busy off-season. They dissect the end of the opening series loss to Las Vegas and what went right.... and wrong.

The guys go over the first four games of the series versus the Vegas Golden Knights and preview the remaining in what has been a fun first-round playoff matchup.

Justin Hein, Luke Sims, Justin Wiggins, and guest Tony Abbott discuss if the Wild have any chance to pull off an upset against the Vegas Golden Knights in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs

Here we are. This is it! The Wild have themselves and "Win-And-You're-In" scenario tonight. The Wilderness Talk guys break down how they got to the final game meaning so much and what to expect tonight. Plus, they discuss the arrival of Zeev Buium.

Justin Hein and Luke Sims discuss the upcoming stretch of Wild hockey, including the last four pivotal games down the stretch. The Wild are playing Gus more than they ever have before. Is that sustainable for the up and down goaltender? The Wild don't really have a choice. What could the addition of Zeev Buium look like for the Wild on the backend? When will Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov really return? All this and more on the latest episode of Wilderness Talk!

Panic in Minnesota (for some of us)!? Justin Hein, Luke Sims, and Justin Wiggins go in depth to find out just how possible it would be for the Wild to miss the playoffs altogether if their slide continues. Plus, more Justin Brazeau concerns and how this week is an important one for the Wild to start playing up to their potential.

Luke Sims is skiing and the great Tony Abbott fills in as a guest this week! He joins Justin Hein and Justin Wiggins in breaking down the Minnesota Wild trade deadline and if their additions are enough to stop the current skid they find themselves on. Plus we play a game of "If I were GM for a day"

Gus Nyquist is traded back to Minnesota and the guys are here to break it down. From the good to the bad, Justin Hein, Luke Sims, and Justin Wiggins discuss the trade and where the Minnesota Wild are trending heading into the trade deadline.

Luke and Justin discuss The Athletic's team prospect rankings and the Minnesota Wild coming in at #2 in the league. Plus, of course we had to break down the wildly successful 4 Nations Tournament so far and TEAM USA's chances of winning the Championship on Thursday.

The Wild head into the 4 Nations Tournament break with quality wins over Carolina and New York, and the Hockey Wilderness guys discuss the vibes surrounding the team. They also get into some 4 Nations predictions, as well as which Wild player will have the largest impact for their home country.

Justin Wiggins and Justin Hein discuss the Ryan Hartman suspension and what his long term outlook is with the Minnesota Wild. They also dig into how the Wild can stay afloat through Kaprizov's reappearance on the injured list.

With a special guest, the guys discuss the fallout of the Mikko Rantanten trade and what it could mean for the Wild. They also got into the recent schedule and the funk that the Wild are in. In addition, they talked about the curse that appears to plauge the Wild on home ice. Lastly, they looked ahead towards the schedule before the four nations tournament and what the trade deadline could look like for Minnesota.

Breaking News! Over the weekend on hockeywilderness.com, our very own Luke Sims broke a story with a source familiar with the KHL that prized prospect Danila Yurov has every intention of leaving the KHL to pursue his NHL career after this season. The guys discuss the impact Yurov could have on the Wild roster as soon as he makes the jump.

The Wilderness Talk boys are joined by our friend Joe Cool to preview the Minnesota Vikings playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams! Joe has a podcast you can find titled "The Doctor and the Dog" and bringing him on to talk Vikings was perfect timing! You can follow him on X by searching @JoeCoolSkol! He even has the patience to let Luke be a little optimistic about his Packers before their eventual demise this weekend.

Justin Hein, Luke Sims, and Justin Wiggins return from a short break to discuss the Wild's recent skid and if anyone is panicing yet.

The guys are back to discuss the litany of injuries hampering the Minnesota Wild and how they just keep on winning anyways. But how long can that last? Plus, a deep dive into the franchise goaltending history brings up a few names as a blast from the past.

The guys react to the bombshell of a trade between Minnesota and Columbus, sending David Jiricek to the State of Hockey as the Wild look to build an Avengers Blue Line. Plus just how shocked are we the Wild sit atop the NHL Standings?

The Minnesota Wild dropped a pivitoal game against the Winnipeg Jets at home. That leaves the Wild at 0-12-1 against Colorado, Dallas and Winnipeg over the past two years. Aside from the disappointing loss, the Wild have been rumored to be in on David Jiricek from Columbus. All of this and more from the last episode before Thanksgiving!

Wiggins is back from LTIR! Justin re-joins Luke Sims and Justin Hein after they took the reins for a few weeks while he begrudgingly enjoyed the beaches of San Diego. The Wild continue to roll, outside their recent loss to the Dallas Stars. The guys debate if the injury excuse is a worthy one or if another loss to a top Central Division opponent is cause for concern.

The Minnesota Wild stole five of six points on their recent road trip and now sit second in the NHL standings behind the Winnipeg Jets. Without Wiggins, Hein and Sims talk about the road trip, and Hein gives his in-depth breakdown of the Minnesota Wild penalty kill and looks ahead to the next few games.

No Justin Wiggins for this episode. Hein and Sims carry this one as they discuss the ugly Minnesota Wild loss to the L.A. Kings, the loss, albeit brief, of Kirill Kaprizov, and how it affected the team the rest of the game. In addition, the dynamic duo recaps the putrid powerplay and penalty kill as well as discussing how Yakov Trenin is kind of bad. Last but not least we do a quick preview of the Wild's upcoming road trip where they should be able to bank a lot of points.

Justin, Justin and Luke go over their takeaways from a very successful road trip for the Minnesota Wild featuring Marc-Andre Fleury's final game in Pittsburgh, Jake Middleton's offensive output, and Kirill Kaprizov's dominance.

Justin Hein, Luke Sims, and Justin Wiggins react to the Wild's sweep of two Florida powerhouses this week and what Marco Rossi's hot start means for his future.

Luke Sims is getting married! So the Justin's are forced to survive an episode without him. But have no fear! Tony Abbott is here! The longtime Minnesota Wild blogger joins the show for his takes on the very early start to the season.

The Minnesota Wild are undefeated! Justin Hein and Justin Wiggins recap the season opener as the Wild defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 on home ice.