This article first appeared on isportsweb.com and was syndicated with permission.

As a Wild fan, it pains me to write this article. It truly cuts to my core that I must acknowledge the futility of our current situation, and I’m not happy to be doing it. However, for the growth and progress of all Wild fans across the country, it is important that one of our own be the one to rip the Band-Aid off and confirm what reporters, analysts, and NHL fans everywhere have been militantly spewing in our direction for the better part of a decade. The Minnesota Wild are not contenders. They have not been contenders for years, and it’s high time we face that fact together as a fanbase. At the outset of this offseason, the current management of the Minnesota Wild looked a lot like Katniss Everdeen at the beginning of the first Hunger Games: lost and stumbling through the forest with no real idea of what direction they want to go. The organization fired [previous] GM Chuck Fletcher and replaced him with Paul Fenton, who, admittedly, has made some great moves this offseason. Matt Dumba and Jason Zucker wer