Minnesota Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher spoke with the media on Sunday, fewer than 24 hours after firing head coach Mike Yeo.
Yeo was fired after the Wild’s eighth straight loss and 13th loss in 14 games. Fletcher said Yeo “deserves a lot of credit for stabilizing this franchise,” but “things have just fallen apart,” he added, according to the team’s official website.
On Jan. 9, the #mnwild was 7th in the NHL. Today, they're 22nd
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) February 14, 2016
“We’ve had a tough four weeks,” Fletcher said. “We had some good meetings last week in St. Louis and I really like the way we played the three subsequent games, and then yesterday we took a step back. So, I made the decision after the game to let Mike go.”
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Torchetti takes over
John Torchetti was hired to replace Yeo as the interim head coach, but the now-former head coach of the Iowa Wild in the American Hockey League hasn’t been guaranteed the job for the long haul, so the final 27 games of the regular season could make or break his future with the Wild, Michael Russo of the Star Tribune reports.
Players feel bad, still hopeful
Koivu: It usually goes on the coach, but we're all responsible for this. We've got to find a way to win games & start building confidence.
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) February 14, 2016
Parise: "It's always a weird day, a weird feeling when a change is made. As a player you take a lot of responsibility." #mnwild
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) February 14, 2016
Coyle: "We have to do what Torch says, follow his lead and I think it'll be good…It's up to us. There's no time to waste." #mnwild
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) February 14, 2016
Suter: "We can definitely get back into this." #mnwild
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) February 14, 2016
