Chatted with Bill Guerin after the 35-minute presser. Succinctly, “we are not giving up on this season,” and the playoffs are attainable, and the expectations for the Wild will always be to win no matter the cap hits. He’s going to give team chance to win before trades.

9 comments

  2. Just give up on the playoff dreams this season and use it to figure things out, my fucking lord. I know it’s early but we’re 30th in the league right now, let’s be a little realistic…

  5. Bruce had some words on this:

    “I get so mad,” Bruce Boudreau, who was replaced by Evason as Minnesota’s head coach in February 2020, told me after the news about Evason came out. “I mean, if you don’t have goaltending and defense, and you don’t have anything (trade-wise), the coach always gets fired. It pisses me off so much.

    “What are you going to do, right? You can implement the best system in the world. The biggest thing is that you can get fired if you don’t handle the losing the right way with the players and then they quit listening. That can be something. But you’re going to lose games if you don’t get good goaltending, and the Wild didn’t get good goaltending. Any time I’ve been fired, it’s usually you’ve got really subpar goaltending. I don’t know. It’s a weird thing. But it is an out (firing the coach).”

    [https://theathletic.com/5094841/2023/11/28/nhl-coaches-fired-woodcroft-evason/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983](https://theathletic.com/5094841/2023/11/28/nhl-coaches-fired-woodcroft-evason/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983)

    More of the article:

    “It’s expectations for teams, that’s what it is,” Gerard Gallant told The Athletic when asked about the thin line for NHL coaches these days. “There’s 32 teams. Probably about 26 or 27 of them believe they have a playoff team. And that’s not going to happen. There’s very few teams that go into the season that think they’re not going to make the playoffs.

    “I mean, I’m sure hockey people can pick four, five teams that don’t have a good chance to make the playoffs, but besides that, everybody thinks they have a good opportunity if they get off to a good start.”

    Until they don’t, as Gallant points out.

    “They used to be able to give them one big trade to try and get it together and if it doesn’t work, after that, then the coach goes,” said Boudreau. “Now the coach goes and then they wait until March 1 to try and make trades with guys on the last year of their contracts. It’s an ass backwards type thing.”

    And so, two good coaches have been sent packing, and it’s not even December yet.

    “Solid guys, solid coaches,” Gallant said. “Woody had a good run for almost two years in Edmonton. Things went really well for him, and his winning percentage was real good. You get off to a horrendous start like they did, and they’ve got to do something.

    “And same thing, Minny was a competitive team, a hard team to play against the last few years — physical and played aggressive. They get off to a tough, tough start. Expectations, and you can’t get behind too much early. It’s the way she goes. It’s part of our game and every coach knows that going in.”

    My thoughts:

    Manage expectations! FFS, not every team is going to make playoffs. It’s disappointing, but let’s get real. The Browns have sucked for decades and STILL have fans going for the chance to see them win. Will this spark the players to play better? No idea. Guess we’ll find out tonight. They’re in a funk and THEY are the only ones who can get themselves out of it.

  7. I think Billy wanted his guy, and this was a cop out for him. We have a relatively easy schedule over the next couple of weeks. If we had won a game in Sweden, I believe this team picks it up, and we win a few more here in December. Dean still has a job.

    Now, Hynes will likely win a few and look like a Godsend.

    Billy will live a die by this decision coupled with the NMCs.

  9. > The expectations for the Wild will always be to win no matter the cap hits

    Well, well, well, if it isn’t the consequences of my own actions

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