Canadian Sunshine Beats Minnesota Snow For Wild’s Day Off

Canadian Sunshine Beats Minnesota Snow For Wild’s Day Off

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia – March has 31 days and the Minnesota Wild have games on 15 of those days. In this NHL season that included a two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, the schedule has been compressed and true days off for the team are rare.

So, when the Wild players got 24 hours to do whatever they wanted — or to do nothing — on Wednesday in Vancouver, the time off was savored.

Although, with snow pounding the Twin Cities, there were reminders of home everywhere, even with the sun shining off the water in British Columbia.

“I woke up and had a phone call from the school saying that school’s closed. But people in Minnesota are a little bit used to that,” Wild forward Marcus Johansson said.

Ryan Hartman heard about the snow and made sure his father-in-law was helping clear things away while the team was out of town. Hartman, who is an outdoors enthusiast, said he has spent previous off days in Florida and Michigan fishing. On Wednesday, he and a few teammates got out on the water near Vancouver, with a twist. They spent some time floating the inlets and bays of Vancouver’s vast harbor on a sauna boat.

“You try not to just sit in the (hotel) room all day,” he said. “Different cities have different things to do, and we found one that was good for the body and kind of revitalizing.”

At this time of the season, while three notable players remain out of the Wild lineup due to longer-term injuries, seemingly every player is dealing with some level of bumps and bruises, so rest becomes a weapon. When players have off days at home, they also deal with the normal domestic duties, while time off on the road can be more purely restful.

“A lot of guys have kids and family, and there’s a lot more stuff to do at home than there is on the road,” Johansson said. “On the road, you hang out with your teammates and you get closer to each other and all that stuff that’s good, but it’s also good to have those days at home and just be a dad or a husband or a boyfriend or whatever it is. They’re good in different ways.”

Wild coach John Hynes said off days on the road can be important opportunities for growing team unity, especially with the playoffs approaching, which can include a notable amount of travel. He joked that their arrival in British Columbia just as the snow was pounding the Twin Cities was some good timing. Vancouver can be notoriously cloudy and rainy, but with abundant sunshine arriving at the time time as the team plane touched down, there was good timing to be had everywhere.

“At home, you get to do good stuff, but all off days are good days. You get to reset and take care of your body,” Wild captain Jared Spurgeon said. “We have great weather here where you can be outside and explore a little, so it was a good day.”