Minnesota Wild: Big Changes to the Wild’s Coaching Staff
Yesterday the Minnesota Wild announced key changes to their coaching staff. As the team looks to fully bring in new head coach Bruce Boudreau and improve on last season many changes had to be made to the coaching staff to insure the future of the team heading forward.
It was announced yesterday by Michael Russo of the Star Tribune in his blog that the Minnesota Wild have made a change in their assistant coaching lineup for next season. This was an expected move with the franchise brining in new head coach Bruce Boudreau, and the overall mandate to shake up the team after the craziness that was the 2015-16 season. As the Wild look to move forward towards next season they opted to retain some of the assistants, possibly let some go, and change the rolls of others
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The Wild decided to keep two key pieces to their coaching staff in assistant coach Darby Hendrickson and goalie coach Bob Mason. Hendrickson is expected to continue his current role as the Wild’s press box coach watching the game play to gather strategy. Mason who was also retrained in his current position which was a smart move. He is a highly regarded developmental coach who will most certainly going to be needed to take on a new goaltender to the system if Darcy Kuemper is indeed moved this summer.
Darryl Sydor and Rick Wilson were not outright sacked by the team, but were informed that they will not return behind the bench next season. There is a possibility that they may be back to assume other roles within the organization.
Wilson is a long time NHL assistant and associate coach who has a resume that includes coaching stints with five different teams. He’s been with the Wild as an assistant for six seasons, and was a player for four NHL seasons and three AHL seasons in the 1970’s. Additionally, Wilson was behind the bench for Dallas’ Stanley Cup win in 1999 perhaps his biggest accomplishment in coaching.
Sydor on the other hand needs no introduction. An 18 year veteran player in the NHL, Sydor has won two Stanley Cups and ranks 18th all-time among defensemen with 1,291 regular-season games. He’s been an assistant with the Wild for five seasons and coached with Mike Yeo in Houston before that.
The loss of Sydor and Wilson will hurt, but it is necessary in order to change the dynamics of the team. Both coaches brought a ton of playing and coaching experience to the young defensive corps of the Wild, and will be a bigger loss than most people realize. Still this was a down season for the penalty kill and Sydor most likely paid for that with his job. Furthermore, Sydor had his issues with alcohol abuse before last season, and one has to wonder if that played into the decision as well.
The final coaching move for the Wild saw them re-assign Andrew Brunette from assistant coach to a position inside the front office. Brunette who played six seasons for the Wild, was originally hired to be a hockey operations advisor and will most likely come back to that role. Brunette’s large stake in the team as a coach was running the power play which has had significant issues over the last two seasons. Like Sydor, Brunette most likely paid for the lack of production with his job. If there was one coaching move coming Brunette’s removal would have been the most predictable one.
These coaching moves are actually fairly reasonable and correct given the situation of the Wild. With Boudreau coming in fresh he’s going to need a few more voices to help install his system, so it makes sense that a few of the old assistants would need to be replaced with some Boudreau’s disciples. Also, it makes sense not to clean house with all the assistants and keep a few for continuity. The assistants Boudreau will bring know his system of play, but will not know the roster and the different strengths and weaknesses of the players. Keeping coaches like Hendrickson and Mason will help the new coaches connect with the Wild players and build a game plan that play to their strengths
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These coaching changes were a necessary step for the team as they move forward. The sooner it got done, the sooner the Wild could start to formulate a solid plan for next season. Unfortunately the Wild will have to say goodbye to some excellent coaches to make that progress forward. The next step is to bring in new assistants to make that solid plan forward a reality. The way things are moving expect the new coaches to be here soon.