Before the Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks met in the past three Stanley Cup Playoffs, before the likes ofMikko Koivu and Jonathan Toews forged a new rivalry between the Central Division opponents, the Minnesota North Stars and Blackhawks were the hot ticket.

"It was fun," Brad Maxwell said. "And it grew. When I first came in, in ’77 it was pretty good, but then as years progressed, so did the rivalry."

The ticket will get punched again in February when North Stars and Wild alumni team up to face former Blackhawks prior to the 2016 Stadium Series Game.

It may not be as physical or as nasty as the North Stars-Blackhawks battles from the 1980's, or the present-day Wild-Blackhawks matchups, but the game will still mean a lot more to many people and players.

"The fact that there are six or seven of us representing the Wild is really neat," Wes Walz said. "But for the most part, this is a great opportunity for the fans that are a little bit from an older generation to see the North Stars play against the old Blackhawks."

Once more, the iconic green 'N' will sit neatly on the chest of a hockey sweater. That alone will hold a greater meaning and impact than the Alumni Game in and of itself.

"I'm really looking forward to be able to wear that sweater," Andrew Brunette said. "I grew up kind of a North Stars fan, so to play with all those guys that I kind of grew up idolizing a little bit is a pretty special moment."

Read more at Wild.com