The long wait will soon be over for Wild fans as the regular season for the Minnesota Wild begins Thursday night.

The Wild will “welcome” their former head coach, Dean Evason, back to Minnesota, who now runs the helm for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Evason was fired during the Wild’s 2023 campaign following a seven-game losing streak into November. The Wild finished 39-33-10 and missed the playoffs for the first time in five years.

Minnesota is hoping to overcome last year’s blunders, start strong, and end a growing trend of slow starts that have plagued the team in recent seasons.

The season begins at 7 p.m. at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.