The Wild have reportedly hired their next head coach
A good fit? With Woodcroft still out there?
HockeyFeed
This just in, the Minnesota Wild have fired head coach Dean Evason and assistant coach Bob Woods.
From the team's press release announcement:
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Wild President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has relieved Head Coach Dean Evason and Assistant Coach Bob Woods of their coaching duties.
“Dean did an excellent job during his tenure with the Minnesota Wild, especially as Head Coach of our team,” said Guerin. “I am very thankful for his hard work and dedication to our organization."
“I would also like to thank Bob for his hard work during his time as an Assistant Coach with the Wild,” said Guerin. “I wish Dean, Bob and their families all the best in the future.”
The 5-10-4 Wild are currently riding a seven game losing skid and are nowhere near the NHL's playoff picture in the Western Conference. The team is currently 3rd last in the Western conference and are about 8 points back of a Wild Card spot. In other words, the time is NOW for the Wild to turn around their season if they have a hope of getting into the post-season. Evason was in his fifth season as the Wild's head coach, a team that he failed to earn a playoff round victory with.
The early reports are that the team has replaced Evason with former New Jersey Devils and Nashville Predators head coach John Hynes.
From NHL insiders Elliotte Friedman and Frank Seravalli:
Hynes was fired by the Predators this past offseason, after three seasons with the team. He was previously with the Devils for four and a half seasons before being fired during the 2019-20 season. Hynes is known as a defensive specialist who employs a pretty strict system for his team's, especially in the defensive zone. It'll be interesting to see if he can turn things around for the Wild because they don't have much time to adjust to a new head coach. This is a team that needs to start winning NOW. Your move, Coach Hynes.
