NHL Rumors: Wild interested in Marc Crawford and Guy Boucher

The Minnesota Wild have talked about their head coach vacancy with Marc Crawford and Guy Boucher.

After the Minnesota Wild fired head coach Mike Yeo in February, John Torchetti took over as the interim head coach. Torchetti was able to help Minnesota turn their season around and make the playoffs, where they lost to the Dallas Stars in six games in the first round. Despite Torchetti’s success, Minnesota has not named him the full-time head coach yet. They have, however, discussed the vacancy with veteran head coaches Marc Crawford and Guy Boucher.

Both Crawford and Boucher are coming off stints in the Swiss hockey league after stints in the NHL. Crawford is the more proven one of the two, but Boucher might be the better head coach because he has shown a willingness to adapt and do what is necessary to win games. While the Lightning’s success without Boucher could be viewed as an indictment on Boucher’s coaching, keep in mind that Jon Cooper was thought of very highly and that he has had more talent around him than Boucher did.

Crawford is the more experienced of the duo, having won a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 1996. He also coached Auston Matthews, the likely number one pick, while overseas. Crawford has also coached for the Vancouver Canucks, Los Angeles Kings, and Dallas Stars. The Wild have also discussed the vacancy with Bruce Boudreau, who has an interview with the Ottawa Senators.

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