Vintage Minnesota Hockey - History

1947:  Former NHL center Walt McKechnie born in London, Ontario. McKechnie played in the NHL 1967-68 through 1982-83 with the Minnesota North Stars, Oakland, Boston, Detroit, Washington, Cleveland, Toronto and the Colorado Rockies.

1965:  Eight men in Minneapolis, St. Paul formed a syndicate with the intention of gaining an new NHL franchise.  Eight months later, the group's franchise was accepted as one of the six new NHL teams.

1984:  Walter Bush announces his retirement from the Minnesota North Stars.

1989:  Minnesota North Stars obtained Gaetan Duchesne from the Quebec Nordiques, in exchange for Kevin Kaminski.

1990:  Minnesota North Stars named former Montreal Canadiens centerman - Bob Gainey, as their new Head Coach, replacing Pierre Page.

2000:  Minnesota Wild named Jacques Lemaire as their Head Coach, the first in franchise history.  The announcement came four months before the start of the team's first NHL season.

2001:  Minnesota Wild signed free agent defenseman Curtis Murphy, who had played the previous three seasons for the Orlando Solar Bears of the IHL.

2006:  Carolina's Matt Cullen picked up two assists as the Hurricanes won the 2006 Stanley Cup with a 3-1 win over the visiting Edmonton Oilers, in Game 7 of the Finals.  Cam Ward became the 4th rookie to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.

2012:  The Minnesota Wild re-signed Goalie Josh Harding to a three-year $5.7 Million contract to stay with the Club that drafted him in the second round (38th overall) of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.