I found this blog post over on
MVN.COM ; first off I wouldn't call it a rift but a smart hockey move by the Minnesota Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher. Hiring Former Fighting Sioux defenseman Rick Wilson who is a proven assistant coach in the NHL was an awesome move and his defensive philosophy can help a team that was horrible defensively last season. I don’t think it it’s a stretch to say that last season the Wild defense looked like a bunch of orange pylons or road cones and it was almost like they had forgot everything that the previous coach had taught them.
Is the hiring of defense-guru Wilson a sign the team has lost a little faith in Richards' and his system to win games? Mike Ramsey, who was the outgoing defensive guru noted philosophical differences as part of the reason for deciding to step away as part of the Wild's trio of coaches. So far nothing public has been stated that really points to a rift but Fletcher clearly is willing to place who he wants above the desires of the head coach. I know that many Wild fans steadily began to question Richards' decision-making especially after holding an optional practice after a particularly paltry effort the night before. So could upper management be wanting Richards to be on the hot seat unless the team shows some real improvement? Maybe, because the franchise is finally feeling a bit more pressure from hockey-mad fans as demonstrated by the struggles to sell season tickets, especially in the lower bowl where you can now purchase 10, 20 and 30 game season ticket packages for the first time in the history of the team. The best cure for those sorts of woes is winning and I think Richards would be foolish to think he would not catch some flak from the ownership if the team again finds itself mired in a mediocre season. The fact of the matter is the team is spending near the cap ceiling, and Wild owner Craig Leipold is going to want to see some return on that investment. I think many Wild fans are wanting the same thing, and they're hoping to avoid a complete rebuild even if that really may be the best solution in order to achieve long-term success.
[State of Hockey]
I think we need to give Chuck Fletcher the benefit of the doubt here and I also think Wild fans need to be a little patient when it comes to the Wild Coach Todd Richards, the former general manager Doug Riesbrough left the Wild hockey in shambles and it’s going to take a long time to correct the mess that was left behind.
