5 NHL teams who’ll be next to fire their head coach
4. Minnesota Wild
It was thought to be a rebuilding season in Minnesota this year, once and for all really, yet here they are around .500 (20-20-6). They are in last place in the Central Division though, with a four-game losing streak going into Thursday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning as they are now eight points out of the final wild card spot in the West.
Bruce Boudreau is a coach ill-fitted to a rebuild/reset, and he’s also without a contract beyond this season. New general manager Bill Guerin has lauded his great respect for Boudreau, while also setting a level of expectations. The minimum expectation appears to be the playoffs this season, even while considering a roster that was (necessarily) reshaped by former general manager Paul Fenton.
Not helping Boudreau’s situation is the lineup card fiasco from earlier this week, which left the Wild with just five defenseman for what would be a 7-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
To be clear Ryan Donato wasn't on the bench because he was supposed to be scratched. Let's see if he quickly dresses and joins his team. Either way the #MNWild will be down to five defensemen for this game. https://t.co/kQpA7yj4Lj
— Dane Mizutani (@DaneMizutani) January 15, 2020
Guerin may not want to miss getting a seat on the current coaching carousel, if there’s an option out there he likes better as his proverbial “guy.” In line with more losses piling up, the heat on Boudreau will turn up in kind.