Minnesota Wild: Charlie Coyle Must Go for Team to Improve

With the Minnesota Wild season soon approaching, many Minnesotans are wondering ‘how will we be any better this year?’ And the answer is simple; the Minnesota Wild won’t improve until we can get rid of Charlie Coyle.

Ever since Charlie Coyle came to the Minnesota Wild, he has been nothing but a let down. We keep giving him a chance year after year, but it’s the same old story.

If I had a dollar for every time Charlie had a fabulous opportunity to score and did not, I would be rich.

Either he cannot catch a pass cleanly or he simply misses the net. And when it comes to physicality, as a man his size, you would think he would be dominant. However, he cannot check or win a puck battle.

Yes, you could make an argument like this for many people in the league, but this is frustrating since he has a salary cap hit $3.75 million.

Over that last three seasons, his goal contribution has decreased significantly. Year on year, it has dropped from 21 goals to 18 goals, and last year a miserable 11 goals.

Yes, I do understand Charlie was hurt last year, however many NHL teams are paying players way less to produce significantly more goals.

Paul Fenton, the General Manager of the Minnesota Wild needs to get a forward that can put the puck in the back of the net.

Breaking the game down to its most simplified state, if we cannot score we will not win. Charlie Coyle is not our answer. We have seen this throughout the many seasons Charlie has skated for the Minnesota Wild.

Personally, I have nothing against Charlie as a person. He seems like a genuine guy and a great teammate, however hockey is business and we need to change up our lines. Starting with Coyle; I can make this same argument for Nino Niederreiter and Joel Eriksson Ek (minus the salary part).

Statistics courtesy of Elite Prospects and CapFriendly.