TSN: Chris Johnston says that despite the Minnesota Wild being near the bottom of the standing, he doesn’t get the sense that head coach Dean Evason‘s job is in imminent danger.
“But at this point, the sense is he’s not in imminent danger, and I think that’s mainly because management looks at this roster and says, it’s not a trade away from being fixed, it’s not a coaching change away from being fixed, it’s up to the best players on this team to pull them through what’s been a difficult stretch.”
Sportsnet: Michael Russo on the Jeff Marek Show talking about how Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin isn’t happy with the team and what options they have to turn things around.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Marek: “So I opened this up by saying that you know the, the now legendary of recent Bill Guerin quote that he’s not happy, really not happy and he’s let the team know it. So then the question becomes, what if anything is Bill Guerin going to do about it if he’s not happy?
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Like we look at that Central Division and Dallas is great. Colorado is great. But after that, it really is jump ball. Who’s going to grab that three spot and tradition we have always said about Minnesota is going in there dummy that’s where Minnesota lives. This year that’s very much in question. So what is Bill Guerin going to do about it, other than shake a cage here and there?
Russo: “Yeah, and that’s the problem, is that he before the season because he extended it all, you know, pretty much one fell swoop in (Marcus) Foligno, (Mats) Zuccarello and (Ryan) Hartman, he’s really given himself no options to make a lot of moves, especially relative to their very little cap space.
Like when (Alex) Goligoski comes back from LTIR, they’re going to be back to square one where they were at the beginning of the season where they barely can even afford an extra player on the roster.
And you know, to me, that was the biggest problem with, with re-signing the 30-somethings altogether, is now if this team goes awry this year, at the trade deadline, he’s given himself very little options. So that leaves one thing and that’s firing Dean Evason.
And you know, I wouldn’t call it a vote of confidence but in that exclusive article that I had the other day that you mentioned, he definitely made it very clear that he’s not happy with the players, and basically said the Dean can’t go out there and play and execute for these guys.
But back and only, you know if the edict is to make the playoffs, at some point this is going to come to a head and the one bullet that that Bill has left in the chambers might have to hit the coach.
I don’t think it’s worth firing Dean Evason. I think that you let this play out the rest of the year and if they have a really crummy year, at a minimum, maybe you go get a lottery pick. You know, that’s something that’s you know Jeff this organization hasn’t had really at all in its history. And I don’t think it would be the worst thing in the world for them to have an awful year.
I just don’t see what a coaching change does. This team is not a Stanley Cup contender in my mind. So are you really gonna make, you know, pull this move to try to make the playoffs? And just do it to maybe get a couple of home gates? Like I don’t think they’re even good enough to really go on a long run when around maybe.
So I just don’t see was worth it. But if again, if the obligation is to make the playoffs, which they still think this team is good enough to do, then I do think that this is not going to last much longer if they continue to lose games and lose in the fashion that they did in Dallas a couple Sundays ago.
You know, at some point, this is going to land at the doorstep of Dean Evason. I don’t think that Bill’s there right now but it’s going to come and so it’s really, this is a really important week or two for the Wild to right the ship.
Their penalty kills been god-awful. I don’t know if Bill is at the point where he would just, which is a rarity in the NHL, fire just an assistant. But that could, you know, be in a tough, tough spot for a guy like Bob Woods as well.
So I just think that this is a really, really precarious position the Wild are in where four days from Thanksgiving. While they’re only four or five points from playoff spot, they’re also very close to the bottom of the NHL standings, and they just have not been good enough.
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Like Bill, as you mentioned, just let the players have it the other day and while they absolutely played better in Sweden, they still didn’t win. And that is a total indictment.”
