Gone Puck Wild
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Minnesota Wild: All-Time Head Coaches Ranked

By Cody Defoe

ST. LOUIS, MO - NOVEMBER 26: Minnesota Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau looks up at the scoreboard as assistant coach John Anderson talks to the team during a time out during a NHL game between the Minnesota Wild and the St. Louis Blues on November 26, 2016, at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO. The Blues won in a shootout 4-3. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO - NOVEMBER 26: Minnesota Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau looks up at the scoreboard as assistant coach John Anderson talks to the team during a time out during a NHL game between the Minnesota Wild and the St. Louis Blues on November 26, 2016, at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO. The Blues won in a shootout 4-3. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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ST. PAUL, MN – OCTOBER 24: Minnesota Wild head coach Mike Yeo is interviewed prior to the game against the Anaheim Ducks on October 24, 2015 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, MN – OCTOBER 24: Minnesota Wild head coach Mike Yeo is interviewed prior to the game against the Anaheim Ducks on October 24, 2015 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images) /

#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.

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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.

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