Several names were thought of before the franchise decided on the Wild. Some of these nicknames were Freeze, White Bears, Northern Lights, and Voyageurs. The first Chief Executive Officer was Jac Sperling and the Chief Financial Officer was Martha Larsen who was the first woman to hold that position in the NHL.

In 1999, the new home arena of the Wild, the Xcel Energy Center was ready and in 2000, they started with their first season. Their first head coach was Jacques Lemaire. The Wild did not enjoy much success initially. They drafted Marian Gaborik who became one of their star players and is still on the roster. In the 2001, season he had thirty goals. In 2003, the Wild made their first playoffs. They made it all the way to the Conference Finals by defeating the Colorado Avalanche and the Vancouver Canucks, before losing to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

In 2003, the Wild ended up at the bottom of their division. In 2004, there was a lockout that caused the season to be cancelled. Sergei Zholtok, a former player of the Wild, died in Europe during a game due to a heart condition. The Wild was at the bottom of their division again in 2005. Gaborik made a new franchise record of maximum goals scored in a season with thirty eight goals. Brian Rolsten also set a franchise record of the highest point total in a season with seventy-nine points.

In 2006, the Wild acquired veteran free agents like Mark Parrish, Keith Carney and Kim Johnsson. They also acquired Pavol Demitra from the Los Angeles Kings. Marian Gaborik had been out of play for a while due to a groin injury and he returned in January 2007. The team immediately looked up and they made the playoffs for the second time in franchise history. They lost to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions the Anaheim Ducks in the first round. Incidentally, the Ducks had ousted them in their earlier playoff appearance as well.

The head coach of the Wild, Jacques Lemaire was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984 in the player’s category. The Wild has retired number 1 in honor of their fans in October 2000. The team is owned by Minnesota Sports and Entertainment. The current General Manager is Doug Risebrough. The team colors are Iron Range Red, Minnesota Wheat, Harvest Gold and Forest Green.