Perhaps the second half of the Wild’s season will wind up labeled: “The Offense Awakens – Revenge of the Yeobots!”

Currently, the Wild couldn’t score into a soccer goal — from five feet — with no net-minder (Jason Pominville would fan on the shot, and Thomas Vanek would try to pass). There’s plenty of time left, and everything could change. But things were supposed to have changed already. This was supposed to be the season in which the Wild took the next step up the ladder and earned a better playoff position.

Word is that general manager Chuck Fletcher is trying to trade for a scorer. That would help in the short term. Whichever player is acquired, however, will be plopped into the Wild system and eventually become another Yeobot. And then he will march onto the ice in lockstep with the others, hockey stick slung over his shoulder like a soldier’s rifle, and join in singing:

I don’t know but I’ve been told

Structured ‘D’ is made of gold

I don’t know but it’s been said

Thoughts of scoring leave you dead

Sound off: one, two …

It’s a myth that all NHL teams play the same way. Although there are common elements to everyone’s game these days, it’s absurd to think all teams follow the same script. The Avalanche, Sharks and Blues, to name a few recent foes, don’t play at all like the Wild. The Wild are a lock-down defense, counter-punching team that endeavors to create turnovers and then get something going in transition.

The Wild are all about structure. Even when they lose 1-0, Mike Yeo’s postgame comments are more like exhortations to “stick with the system” and “adhere to our structure.” OK, great. I think it’s a sound system. I also think owner Craig Leipold is wasting his money. He can get the same results for about half the current payroll. The Wild’s structure rewards effort far more than skill, and some players are just not meant to be defensive Yeobots.

Matt Dumba was a dynamic defenseman coming out of juniors. He was creative, could lead breathtaking rushes and deliver jarring open ice hits. Dumba was worth the price of admission. Then the Wild got ahold of him and took the panache out of his game. Made him scale back and fit in. Now we can watch a whole game on TV and not hear his name mentioned.

Worse, rumors have him being offered as trade bait. That kid has “star” written all over him. He’s a swashbuckling player who has been turned into a Yeobot. Mikael Granlund is another creative player who is not functioning well in the current structure. Granlund is a gifted puck-handler. He’s also very small, carries heavy defensive responsibilities and often can be spotted near his own net.

Oh, sure, some of you are thinking, the Wild are in a slump so jump on their style of play. Again, I think it’s a solid way to play. But it seems as if they are trying to put several square pegs into round holes. Jason Zucker a defense-first player? He might score 40 goals someplace else.

After the 2008-09 season, Fletcher became the GM. Fletcher, out of the Pittsburgh organization, hired Todd Richards, also out of the Penguins camp, as his coach. To that point, the Wild had been playing Jacques Lemaire’s trap and people were bemoaning how terrible that offense-stifling system was, even though Lemaire had given Marian Gaborik close to free rein.

The new regime implemented something very close to the Penguins’ system – Pittsburgh Lite. It’s what they knew, first of all. And the Penguins had been successful with it. Pittsburgh also had Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but let’s not split hairs.

The Wild were 22nd in the league in goals scored in Lemaire’s last season. They were 20th and 26th in Richards’ two seasons. Out went Richards, in came Yeo, also out of the Pittsburgh organization. Thus we began “the process.’’

The Wild finished 30th and dead last in goals scored in Yeo’s first year. Then 22nd, 24th, 12th, and now they are 22nd. My theory is that the Wild finished as high as 12th last season because of the great midseason goaltender collapse. They were behind 2-0 early in every game and had to all out scramble. They lost several games 6-5, 5-4 and 4-3 last December.

Overall, Yeo’s record is 173-170. Richard’s record was 77-87. Meanwhile, the payroll has gone through the roof. With the cupboard now pretty much bare in Iowa, the Wild still are not an elite team. So where are we? What’s next?

Anyway, the Wild will win enough 2-1, 3-1 games to get into the playoffs. Of course, they are supposed to make the playoffs. Most teams do. Then the process will continue next year. And the next. I just wish I knew what the final product was supposed to look like.