Minnesota Wild: All-Time Head Coaches Ranked
The Minnesota Wild joined the NHL in the 2000-2001 Season. Through 18 seasons since their inception the Minnesota Wild have had surprising stability behind the bench, currently being on only their 5th coach in franchise history.
I have gone back through each coach’s history, recapped their time with the Minnesota Wild, recounted their accomplishments and let-downs, and placed them in a deserving ranking spot comparative to their coaching competition through the history of the franchise.
This list has been ranked based on a few important statistics and accomplishments during each coach’s tenure with the team. For the purposes of this article, I am only looking at each coach’s time spent with the Minnesota Wild. Accomplishments with any other team may be noted, but were not considered in the overall rankings.
Each coach’s win/loss record, both regular season and playoffs, coupled with his length of tenure and number of playoff appearances have all been accounted for. I have also taken a subjective look at the rosters that each coach had at his disposal, and considered this in their team success.
Team awards, team season records, and major accomplishments have also been considered and added to each coach’s overall success. Likewise, team worsts have been deducted from each coach’s accomplishments.
With that, let’s get to the list.
#5 Todd Richards (2009-2011) (77-71-16)
In the Summer of 2009 the Minnesota Wild were looking for a new head coach for the very first time since entering the league in 2000. With successful veteran coaches including Pat Quinn, Peter Laviolette, and Craig MacTavish available during the 2009 offseason, GM Chuck Fletcher opted to go the unproven route with his first Head Coaching hire.
Todd Richards, then an assistant with the San Jose Sharks, was brought in to transition the Wild to an offense first team. Richards was a bright eyed rookie coach, looking to make an impact at the NHL Level.
Richards first task as Head Coach would be to find a way to work an offensive mentality into a Minnesota Wild team who had spent 9 seasons as a defense first franchise. Working with a roster containing Mikko Koivu, Brent Burns, Andrew Brunette, Martin Havlat, and Owen Nolan this was a tall order of business for a first time coach.
Ultimately, this was the draft that brought Mikael Granlund and Jason Zucker to the Wild, so it wasn’t all bad finishing where they did.
His first season ended 11 points back of a playoff spot, taking a major step backwards for a team that missed the playoffs by 2 points the previous season.
After a full season as coach, he came into his second season with much higher expectations and a roster that hadn’t changed much. At the end of the season, and another finish 11 points out of the playoffs, it was abundantly clear that Richards could not do what Chuck Fletcher and the Minnesota Wild were requesting of him.
Richards was relieved of his duties immediately following the 2010-11 season after 2 years with the team. He finished his time with the Wild with a 51.8% Winning percentage (per hockey-reference.com), 2 seasons out of the playoffs, back-to-back Top 10 Draft Picks, and ultimately playing Brent Burns into a trade away from Minnesota.
Richards lasting legacy on the team will be for what his failures brought to the team, moreso than what he did as coach. Mikael Granlund, Jason Zucker, Jonas Brodin, and Nick Seeler were all picks in the subsequent drafts during Richards 2 seasons as coach. Brent Burns second season with Richards was, at the time, a career pinnacle.
As fans, those 2 seasons were a struggle to get through, but in hindsight at least it lead to a solid generation of future players.
#4 – John Torchetti (2016) (15-11-1)
February 2016 saw the Minnesota Wild do something they had never done before, when they made a mid-season coaching change. In the midst of a losing streak which had seen the team lose 8 games in a row, and 13 of its previous 14, John Torchetti was brought in from the AHL’s Iowa Wild to right the ship.
This included a big 6-1 victory against the rival Chicago Blackhawks in the 2016 Stadium Series game.
Torchetti taking over as Head Coach reaped immediate benefits for the team, as he proceeded to win his first 4 games as coach.
Torch got the team back on track going 15-7-1 through March and looked to have the team back on track as a dark horse heading into the playoffs. That is, until the wheels fell off the train and the team backed into the playoffs with 5 consecutive losses.
In the first round series against the 1st place Dallas Stars, Torchetti was clearly outmatched as a Head coach but not entirely by his own faults. The Minnesota Wild were forced to start the series with injuries to Zach Parise, Erik Haula, and Thomas Vanek, leaving the team extremely shorthanded on scoring ability.
Parise and Vanek never did come back, but the team showed a ton of resiliency in a 6 game series loss. Battling back from a 4-0 deficit in the 3rd Period, only to end up losing 5-4 at the end was the story of the season for the Wild and Torchetti.
He brought the team out of one of the worst mid-season slumps in franchise, they scratched and clawed their way to the playoffs and went out kicking and screaming. He finished the season with a 57.4% winning percentage, a 6-game playoff series against the top team in the league, and a ton of positives heading into the next season.
Realistically, Torchetti earned himself the right to be around for a few more seasons, but was unfortunate that the next man on this list became available when he did.
#3 – Bruce Boudreau (2016-Present) (94-51-19)
In the summer of 2016, the Minnesota Wild and their fans were riding a wave of emotions following a turbulent season and heartbreaking playoff exit. General Manager Chuck Fletcher was left with a difficult decision, to bring back an interim coach with moderate success in a limited time or to find an experienced veteran NHL Coach.
There were a lot of options available in that offseason, including the likes of Randy Carlyle, Marc Crawford, and Ken Hitchcock. The name that stood out, as we all know now, was none other the Bruce Boudreau.
Boudreau was coming off of four consecutive division championships with the Anaheim Ducks, all of them ending in Game 7 losses. Despite 3 consecutive 100 point seasons, Boudreau was still shown the door in Anaheim due to his continuous playoff failures.
Chuck Fletcher and the Minnesota Wild management team decided that the regular season accomplishments of Boudreau outweighed his playoff failures and rewarded him with a 4 year deal to lead the State of Hockey into a new era.
In his first season behind the bench, Bruce led the Wild to numerous franchise records, including the longest winning streak in franchise history (12 games), highest goal differential in a season (+58), and the most wins in a season (49). He had the Minnesota faithful buying into what he was selling, and convinced as a true Cup contender.
That fan support was quickly diminished, though, when his Wild faltered in the Playoffs
The Wild were sent packing in 5 games by the St.Louis Blues despite home-ice advantage in the first-round. To be fair, Jake Allen stole the show in that series, but nonetheless a top team should have been able to find a way.
In season 2, it was a slight step back for the Boudreau led Wild. The team dealt with numerous major injuries including Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, Nino Niederreiter, and Charlie Coyle. Devan Dubnyk even missed 7 consecutive games in December due to injury.
Despite all of that, Boudreau managed to keep the team composed for the entire season. They never finished a month with a record below .500 (per NHL.com). That in itself is quite the accomplishment.
When it came down to it, though, the team couldn’t withstand the injuries in crunch time. Ryan Suter went down late in the season, and missed all of the playoffs. Zach Parise went down in Game 3, and that was the end of any real hopes.
Halfway through his 4 year contract, Boudreau has clearly worked his magic on regular season consistency and stability. He has put up back to back years near the top of the division, with no signs of slowing that down.
If he manages to find a way to overcome the playoff struggles that have plagued him for his entire coaching career, Bruce could absolutely work his way up this list. For right now, he stays at number three based solely on his playoff shortcomings.
#2 – Mike Yeo (2011-2016) (173-132-44)
At the end of the 2010-11 season, the Minnesota Wild were looking to move forward after the debacle that was Todd Richards. General Manager Chuck Fletcher decided to promote from within this time, bringing Mike Yeo up to the NHL team after 1 season with the AHL’s then Houston Aeros.
Yeo brought with him a wealth of knowledge, from 4 seasons as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins, including back-to-back Stanley Cup finals. He also had experience and familiarity with the prospects in the system and was largely considered a good fit to bring the next generation up to the NHL level.
His first season with the team got off to a great start, going 20-7-3 to start the year and giving fans a true belief the team could finally see sustained success; That belief was quickly dashed, as the Wild would then proceed to lose 19 of their next 21 games. They would stumble around in mediocrity for the remainder of the season and finish by missing a 4th consecutive playoffs.
Yeo showed some definite successes in his first season, as he led a team with top scorers consisting of Dany Heatley, Kyle Brodziak, Cal Clutterbuck, and Devin Setoguchi to a hot start. It was hope for the future and what he could do when the top flight rookies developed.
More from Gone Puck Wild
- Defenseman Matt Dumba signs one-year contract with Arizona
- Minnesota Wild reach agreement with Brandon Duhaime on one-year contract
- Minnesota Wild receive mixed grades for picks in NHL Entry Draft
- Minnesota Wild draft heavy on centers and home-state selections
- Minnesota Wild open regular season at home against Stanley Cup Finalist
The 2012-13 season was shortened by the NHL Lockout, which actually highly benefited Yeo and the Minnesota Wild. They were able to sustain success without going through a mid-season slump, but were struck with misfortune in Game 1 of the Playoffs when Niklas Backstrom injured his leg during pre-game warmup.
Josh Harding performed admirably in a series losing effort, but ultimately the burden falls to the coach to bring the team out of a rut. Mike Yeo was unfortunately unable to get his team to fight back from losing their starting goalie, and was quickly eliminated from his first playoff appearance.
The following year saw even more success, as the Wild got off to a strong start, saw a short losing streak in December, bounced back with a strong January, worked through a mediocre March, and finished in the playoffs for a second season. Most impressively, Yeo was able to do it with rookies Mikael Granlund, Charlie Coyle, and Nino Niederreiter playing prominent roles.
A series win in the playoffs was enough to solidify Yeo in the Minnesota Wild record books, as only the second coach to ever win a playoff series in the State of Hockey. I broke my couch from that Game 7 Overtime goal by Niederreiter, before the Chicago Blackhawks broke all of our hearts yet again.
Yeo was rescued by the arrival of Devan Dubnyk, who would proceed to light the league on fire through February and March
In Year 4, Yeo was riding high after exceeding expectations each season. Based on the way he was trending, a Conference Championship should have been in the cards. Instead, a mediocre start to the season was made worse by a mid-season slump where the team lost 11 of 13 games through December and January.
Another 1st Round victory, this time in 6 games over St.Louis (the first time a Wild team had ever won a series in less than 7) led to another series with the dreaded Blackhawks. And again, a failure to produce results, this time in a sweep.
At this point, it appeared that Mike Yeo was beginning to get intimidated at the thought of facing Chicago. He could not seem to solve the Wild’s most hated rival and it was ultimately leading to consistent playoff failure.
Mike Yeo was given another season to try to overcome his demons, and hurdle the obstacles placed in his way. When another season which started strong fell apart midseason (losing 13 of 14 games through January-February), GM Chuck Fletcher had seen enough. Yeo became the first Minnesota Wild head coach to be fired Mid-season.
While his career with Minnesota ended abruptly, Yeo had plenty of successes during his tenure with the team. 3 playoff appearances in 4 seasons; 2 trips into the second round of the playoffs; and developing Granlund, Coyle, Niederreiter, and Zucker into reliable performers through a combination of trust and tough love.
Most notoriously, though, he will be remembered for his team’s mid-season slumps, and his inability to solve the Chicago Blackhawks in the playoffs. These failures, are why he is only number 2 on this list.
#1 – Jacques Lemaire (2000-2009) (293-255-108)
The very first coach of the Minnesota Wild was also the longest tenured and the winningest coach in franchise history. He gets first on our list not only for his lasting effect on the franchise, but for the teams he did it with.
In June 2000, the expansion Minnesota Wild named Jacques Lemaire to be the first ever Head Coach of the franchise shortly before choosing Marian Gaborik to be the future star player of the franchise in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.
Lemaire brought with him a wealth of experience, including 8 Stanley Cup Championships as a player and 1 as the Head Coach of the New Jersey Devils. He also brought “trap hockey” to the state of Minnesota, which allowed his expansion franchise to be moderately successful early on.
It only took 3 seasons for Jacques, with help from then General Manager Doug Risebrough, to turn a franchise made up of expansion draft misfits into a true Stanley cup contender.
After getting 25 wins and missing the playoffs in each of the team’s first 2 seasons, Jacques managed to turn things around in a big way. A 42 win season led to the team’s first playoff berth. A 3 games to 1 deficit to the Colorado Avalanche in round one was overcome with a Game 7 victory.
Jacques’s Wild would then repeated the feat, by overcoming a 3 games to 1 deficit against the Vancouver Canucks with another Game 7 victory. Unfortunately, the magic ran out there and the Cinderella story was cut short with a series sweep (scoring only a single goal through 4 games) by the then Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
This still stands as the one and only time that the Minnesota Wild franchise has made it beyond the second round. By that statistic alone, Jacques takes a large head start over any and all of his coaching competition in the State of Hockey to this day. Not to mention that he was rewarded with the Jack Adams Trophy as the league’s best coach for the 2002-03 Season.
Following the Cinderella run, Lemaire’s team remained in the playoff hunt for the remainder of his time in Minnesota. After missing the playoff’s the following season, the NHL was forced to deal with the Lockout lost season of 2004-2005 and the repurcussions of the newly agreed upon CBA.
The Wild didn’t appear to stumble much, however, as they played the new season relatively average the whole way through. In the thick of the playoff hunt down the stretch, they ended up missing the playoffs but maintaining that they were middle-of-the-pack.
The 2006-07 Season saw Lemaire lead the team back to the playoffs, finishing with a then franchise best 48 wins and 104 points in the regular season, and a 1st round playoff rematch with the same Ducks who had swept them out of the Conference Finals 5 years before.
This series saw the Wild finally solve the Anaheim goaltenders, but was ultimately more of the same as Anaheim took the series in 5 games. It was encouraging to see that Lemaire was able to build on what happened in 2003, but disappointing to see a similar playoff exit.
Lemaire would bounce back from the early playoff exit by leading the Wild to its first Division championship, and home ice advantage in the first round for the first time ever. Home ice, sadly, wasn’t enough to give them the edge over Colorado, and the team was outed in 6 games.
Lemaire gets first place on this list for a number of reasons, but namely because nobody has managed to exceed his most important accomplishments. Reaching the Conference championships, winning coach of the year, winning a division championship, and getting the William M. Jennings Trophy awarded to his goaltenders for fewest goals allowed in the league (largely due to Lemaire’s defensive system).
Only once in Lemaire’s tenure did the team allow more than 220 goals in a season. After the first 2 seasons as an expansion franchise, the Lemaire led Wild never allowed more goals than they scored in a season.
Despite what the Vegas Golden Knights may lead anyone to believe, bringing an expansion franchise into a league of established teams and superstars is never an easy feat. Lemaire’s Minnesota Wild had a brief adjustment period to get their feet wet in the league, but once they found a rhythm they absolutely proved they belonged.
Next: Minnesota Wild: 2018-19 Preview of J.T. Brown
One day, hopefully soon, we’ll have a coach in Minnesota who gets to bring the Stanley Cup home to the Team of 18,000. Until then, we can live off the memories of what these past coaches were able to do, and dream about seeing Boudreau recreate his regular season success into 16 wins through the playoffs.