It's the day after the final day of the NHL regular season, and the parade of coaches to hit the unemployment line continues. The Minnesota Wild fired head coach Todd Richards today, one day after eliminating the Dallas Stars from postseason contention with a win in their season's final game.
Todd Richards Fired As Head Coach Of Minnesota Wild
It’s pretty simple to understand the move. In two seasons as head coach, Richards failed to get the team over the hump and into the postseason. In a market like Minnesota that’s starving for playoff hockey, that’s simply not going to cut it, even if the problems go much deeper and much higher in the organization.
It’d be unfair to say that Richards had all the pieces he needed to get the Wild to the postseason, and thus it’d be unfair to put the blame completely on his shoulders. As coach, though, you always get the short end of the stick. As he said after Sunday’s game, via the Star-Tribune:
“Without question, you look back, ‘Would you do some things different? Yeah, absolutely,” Richards said. “But for the most part, there’s not too many things I could change.”
Not too many things I could change. Yep. Sounds about right. Nevertheless, Richards is the one looking for a job. For more on the story and the pending search for a new head coach, check in with Hockey Wilderness and SB Nation Minnesota.
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