Fansided

Every current NHL franchise’s most beloved head coach

By Griffin Youngs

(Original Caption) Detroit Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman with the Stanley Cup on day of Red Wings celebratory parade in Detroit. (Photo by © Ralf-Finn Hestoft/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
(Original Caption) Detroit Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman with the Stanley Cup on day of Red Wings celebratory parade in Detroit. (Photo by © Ralf-Finn Hestoft/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images) /
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NEWARK, NJ – JANUARY 04: Head coach Jacques Lemaire of the New Jersey Devils looks on during the game against the Minnesota Wild at the Prudential Center on January 4, 2011 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andy Marlin/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ – JANUARY 04: Head coach Jacques Lemaire of the New Jersey Devils looks on during the game against the Minnesota Wild at the Prudential Center on January 4, 2011 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andy Marlin/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Minnesota Wild: Jacques Lemaire

The Minnesota Wild have searched desperately for success ever since their inception in 2000 as an expansion team. But there is one coach who left an impact on the Minnesota Wild more than any other after him — Jacques Lemaire.

Lemaire was hired by the Minnesota Wild in 2000 to do an impossible task, build an expansion franchise full of the unwanted refuse of the other teams in the league into an eventual Stanley Cup contender. This is a thankless task filled with lots of pain and patience, especially the longer it goes on, but Lemaire was able to persevere and give the wild the best success they’ve had to date.

The first year with the Wild went about as expected, finishing with 68 points and last in the Central Division. But expansions drafts weren’t what they are now back them, and Lemaire needed time to establish his system with the team. The second season saw only a slight improvement with 73 points, and still a last place finish in the division.

2002-03 was the best year in Wild history by far. The Wild finally improved significantly and finished with 95 points to finish in third place in the Central Divison and sixth in Western Conference, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in their history. In the first round, Lemaire’s wild would steal a Game 7 on the road overtime with an Andrew Brunette winner. Next round the Wild did the same thing and stole yet another Game 7 in Vancouver to advance to face the Ducks in the conference finals. Unfortunately the magic would end there, and the Wild would be swept.

Lemaire and the Wild would qualify for the playoff just twice more and Lemaire would be let go after eight full seasons with the team. The Wild have never advanced since round two since being led there by Lemaire in 2003.

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