The Wild's schedule is expected to be released Sunday afternoon, but I have heard a few details through the grapevine -- one that is expected to be announced later Saturday.

The Wild will open the season Oct. 9 with a home-and-home against the Colorado Avalanche, the Central Division champs the Wild defeated in seven games in the first round a few months back.

The Wild's supposed to continue to Anaheim and Cup champion Los Angeles after playing in Denver, but unless the Wild managed to get the NHL to squeeze another game in there, the Wild, last I heard, had five or six days off before playing its third game of the season in Anaheim.

Some other tidbits: The Kings come to Minnesota the first time Nov. 26. The Wild has a home-and-home with Winnipeg in December, plays in Columbus on New Year's Eve and closes the season with three games on the road in a bit of a meat grinder at Chicago, Nashville and St. Louis. That follows consecutive home games against the Rangers, Detroit and Winnipeg.

As I mentioned last week, no outdoor game this season. It was supposed to be in February against Dallas at Target Field.

According to an NHL source, the Wild is at the "top of the list" for a stadium-series game and was scheduled to have a game this year. What held it up was timing and logistics, the source said. The Wild wants to make this a huge event by having outdoor high school and college games accompanying the stadium series game.

The problem, I'm told, is the league wants the game to be here in February and for this upcoming season, the colleges had their schedules already booked and couldn't just insert an outdoor game into their schedules right before their playoffs. In addition, February is getting awfully close to Twins season and could cause havoc on Target Field's ... field.

The league source said, "At the end of the day, both of us determined that next year would be better. It's going to happen next year."

We'll see though. As we have learned, everything is subject to change (I reported during the playoffs the Wild would be getting a stadium-series game next season and now it isn't) and the Wild still would prefer the actual Winter Classic. The problem though is according to a league source the 2016 Winter Classic site has been determined. Although it hasn't been announced where, the game has not been awarded to Minnesota, so the soonest the Wild could host one is 2017.

Personally, I still hear there's more to this stadium-series thing that has nothing to do with the Wild and that's why the stadium-series games were scaled down this year to one. Next year, I'm told we're going to see more than one game again.

CELEBRITIES ANNOUNCED FOR 2014 WELLS FARGO MINNESOTA WILD ROAD TOUR

SAINT PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Wild and Wells Fargo have announced the celebrities and exact locations for the annual Wells Fargo Minnesota Wild Road Tour, set for Tuesday, June 24 through Thursday, June 26. The Road Tour will lead up to the Summer Bash/NHL Draft Watch Party on Friday, June 27, at Xcel Energy Center.


The Western Tour will feature Wild player Matt Cooke, alumni Wes Walz and Wild television analyst Mike Greenlay. The Northern Tour will have Wild players Charlie Coyle and Jason Zucker, as well as Wild radio personalities Tom Reid and Kevin Falness. The Southern leg features Wild players Erik Haula and Stephane Veilleux, alumni Antti Laaksonen and Wild television play-by-play announcer Anthony LaPanta.

Western Tour (Cooke, Walz, Greenlay)

Tuesday, June 24

Moorhead: 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Moorhead Youth Hockey Arena (707 Main Ave. SE)

Fergus Falls: 3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. at Fergus Falls Community Ice Arena (340 Friberg Ave.)

Wednesday, June 25

Morris: 10:30-11:30 a.m. at Lee Community Center (101 S. County Rd. 22)

Marshall: 3:30-4:30 p.m. at Lockwood Motors Ice Arena (512 Fairgrounds Rd.)

Thursday, June 26

Worthington: 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Worthington Arena (1600 Stower Dr.)

Blue Earth: 3:30-4:30 p.m. at Wells Fargo Bank (201 E. 7th St.)


Southern Tour (Haula, Veilleux, Laaksonen, LaPanta*)

Tuesday, June 24

Des Moines, Iowa: 11 a.m.-12 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena (833 5th Ave.)

Waterloo, Iowa: 4-5 p.m. at Young Arena (125 Commercial St.)

Wednesday, June 25

Mankato: 11 a.m.-12 p.m. at All Seasons Arena (1251 Monks Ave.)

Faribault: 2-3 p.m. at Faribault Ice Arena (1816 NW 2nd Ave.)

Thursday, June 26

Rochester: 12-1 p.m. at Graham Arena - Rink One (1570 Fairgrounds Ave. SE)

Red Wing: 3-4 p.m. at Prairie Island Arena (370 Guernsey Lane)

*June 25 and June 26 only

Northern Tour (Coyle, Zucker, Reid, Falness)

Tuesday, June 24

Silver Bay: 12-1 p.m. at Rukavina Arena (129 Outer Dr.)

Hibbing: 5-6 p.m. at Fairground Arena (1100 E. 25th St.)

Wednesday, June 25

Duluth: 12-1 p.m. at Duluth Heritage Sports Center (120 S. 30th Ave. W)

Pequot Lakes: 6-7 p.m. at Breezy Point Hockey Center (7370 County Rd. 11)

Thursday, June 26

Princeton: 12-1 p.m. at Princeton Ice Arena (511 Ice Arena Dr.)

Buffalo: 3-4 p.m. at Buffalo Municipal Airport (1305 County Rd. 134)

The Wild will hold the Wells Fargo Summer Bash/NHL Draft Watch Party at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul on Friday, June 27, from 6-10 p.m. There will be Wild player photographs and autographs, NHL alumni autographs, a live broadcast from KFAN 100.3 FM, as well as tours of the press box and Wild locker room.