After a rocky season that sees the team currently sixth in the Central Division with a 27-23-7 record, the Minnesota Wild have fired Bruce Boudreau on Friday. According to The Athletic’s Michael Russo, assistant coach Dean Evason will be named the team’s interim head coach.
The news was first broken by Michael Russo of The Athletic and then confirmed by a number of other sources before the Wild themselves, officially confirmed the news a few minutes later.
According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, Boudreau was fired this morning by GM Bill Guerin and after considering that he was one final season on his deal as a coach and two seasons left as a consultant.
Who might replace Boudreau? One other name to keep an eye on in future for the Wild might be Doug Weight. Has taken time to watch son Danny this year with BCHL’s Penticton Vees.
The firing might not come as a huge shock considering the changes the Wild seem to be making but the timing is a bit odd. Bill Guerin recently said, “I wholeheartedly expect this team to compete for a playoff spot” and then he traded Jason Zucker and fired Boudreau after the team went 4-1-1 in the last 6 games. But, a disappointing season that likely wasn’t going to see them in the playoffs, Guerin pulled the trigger now, rather than later.
Boudreau has an impressive coaching resume and an traditionally isn’t out of work long after leaving a team. He was hired by Anaheim two days after he was fired by Washington, and Minnesota hired him 7 days after he was fired by the Ducks. He’ll likely take a vacant coaching job sooner than later.
When you take a look at the list of coaches who have been fired this season, it’s a list of some really interesting names:
- Mike Babcock
- John Hynes
- Bill Peters
- Jim Montgomery
- Pete DeBoer
- Peter Laviolette
- Gerard Gallant
- Bruce Boudreau
Related: Why the Toronto Maple Leafs Should Be Interested in Matt Dumba
