After signing Zach Parise and Ryan Suter last offseason, the Minnesota Wild were expected by many to rise to the top of the league and instantly contend for a Stanley Cup. Once the season began, however, reality set in.

While Minnesota did ultimately make the playoffs, it hung on to the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference by the skin of its teeth and was dispatched by the Chicago Blackhawks in five games.

This offseason was not nearly as great for the State of Hockey. They lost Devin Setoguchi, seasoned veteran Pierre-Marc Bouchard, and heavy-hitting fan-favorite Cal Clutterbuck.

Their only acquisitions this offseason were Nino Niederreiter (one goal, no assists, and a minus-29 in 55 NHL games in 2011-12) and the infamous Matt Cooke.

While the Wild have regressed this offseason, they may be helped by a move to the Central Division. Instead of having to consistently make lengthy trips to Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton; the Wild will be traveling to closer cities like Chicago, St. Louis, and Winnipeg.

There will also be all sorts of new and exciting rivalries for Minnesota, harkening back to the days of the old Norris Division.

Chicago, Minnesota’s playoff foe in 2013, should build its rivalry with the Wild right off the bat. The Blackhawks and North Stars were rivals some twenty-plus years ago, and expect it to pick right back up. Chicago has troublemakers like Andrew Shaw and Bryan Bickell while the Wild have Matt Cooke to stir things up.

Dallas will create an interesting rivalry with Minnesota, as the former tenants of the State of Hockey meet the new ones. Obviously, nobody is still left from those North Stars teams and the Wild have occupied St. Paul for thirteen years, but it will still be interesting to see some of the fans get into it.

Perhaps the most underrated rivalry in all of hockey is the one that the Wild share with the St. Louis Blues. Every time the two teams get together, they always provide for an extremely intense and exciting game for no explicable reason. There will be more of those games this year, and they will be even more meaningful.

Minnesota is led up front by Parise, Mikko Koivu, and Dany Heatley. All three have been very consistent offensive players throughout their respective careers and will continue to try to put some pucks in the net for a team that is usually short on scoring.

Mikael Granlund was a severe disappointment last year, as he was touted as one of the top prospects in hockey but did not make much of an impact with the Wild. It would benefit the team tremendously if he improves this year.

The defense is obviously quarterbacked by Suter, but several young defensemen like Jonas Brodin, Marco Scandella, and Jonathon Blum will be looking to make their marks.

Minnesota is a strong team in goal with Nicklas Backstrom and Josh Harding. When Backstrom was injured in last year’s playoffs, Harding filled in and did a solid job.

In reality, Chicago and St. Louis will likely battle for the top spot in the Central, while the Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets will be trying to stay out of the cellar. Expect the Wild to be in a tight dogfight with the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators for third place in the Central Division.