As part of our five-part series on NHL expansion, ESPN.com breaks down the league's two newest teams. We asked ESPN's NHL analysts their opinion on the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets and which team will be better in its inaugural season.

There are going to be some games in this series that we will remember but not the series as a whole. Game 5 will be a classic: Columbus has shown iteself to be a dynamic franchise by signing veteran players like Lyle Odelein and Ron Tugnutt. So far, the Columbus Blue jackets have been much more aggressive in building their franchise than the Minnesota Wild. It appears Minnesota is going to do it the way Ottawa did: Taking their lumps early, stockpiling draft picks, relying on their young guys and giving them a chance to play.

The Minnesota Wild are a slightly stronger team than the Columbus Blue Jackets. Even though Ron Tugnutt and Marc Denis will do well for Columbus, the Wild's Manny Fernandez is going to be the next outstanding goalie in the NHL. Defensively, Minnesota has a solid blend of veteran and young players. Curtis Leschyshyn, Sean O'Donnel and Andy Sutton are good players to have around young guys like Brad Bombardir and Filip Kuba. Count on Jacques Lemaire to teach an air-tight defensive system and insist his guys put it in place. Columbus has drafted a team geared more to playing strong team defense, which both teams will have to do because neither of them are going to overpower anyone offensively. The hardest thing for an expansion team to find is a sure-fire offensive producer because nobody gives those guys up. Columbus' ability to score goals will be a concern. Minnesota, with Sergei Krivokrasov, Aaron Gavey and Stacy Roest -- who could be a breakthrough player this year -- is going to be able to put up a few more goals than the Blue Jackets.

There is not a lot of difference between Columbus and Minnesota; both clubs, like all new organizations, are trying to get good guys who can gel, play together and are willing to learn their respective systems. There are, however, some contrasts worth noting. Part of the reason Columbus picked up locker-room leader Ron Tugnutt is because his experience level is a major plus. Add Marc Denis, a great young talent who's been to a lot of training camps, and the Blue Jackets have a better chance in goal. Defensively, the two teams are pretty even. Columbus may have the advantage, with a mix of veterans such as Lyle Odelein and young talent like Jean-luc Grand Pierre. The offensive edge goes to Minnesota. They have a little more zip and depth, especially at center. The Wild did a nice job getting good, solid guys like Darby Hendrickson, Aaron Gavey, Jimmy Dowd and well-trained guys from Detroit like Stacy Roest and Darryl Laplante. Jacques Lemaire is a very bright guy and a great teacher; he knows he's not going to have the talent he had in New Jersey, but he was able to establish systems there, and you can look for him to do the same in Minnesota. Minnesota's going to have to be tight defensively because they are not going to be able to score a lot of goals.

In Ron Tugnutt, Columbus has a goaltender who has proven people wrong his entire career and is now out to prove he deserves recognition as a No. 1 goalie. And because they signed him to a good contract, the Blue Jackets get a leader who feels wanted; this will only make Tugnutt better. Based on actual NHL experience, Columbus has a slight edge defensively, with guys who are a little older and more mature. Offensively, the edge goes to the Wild. Minnesota has picked up guys like Aaron Gavey, Darby Hendrickson, Jimmy Dowd and Stacy Roest, a creative player who can make a play for his wingers.