Darby gives up microphone for a coaching gig

Hum! Very interesting. I am sure that there will be a few people that are unhappy about Darby no longer being on the FSN broadcast team. Now the Minnesota Wild have two former Golden Gophers and a Fighting Sioux on their coaching staff.

Minneapolis Star and Tribune ---- Head coach Todd Richards has hired Hendrickson, who scored the first home goal in Wild history, on Oct. 11, 2000 in a 3-3 tie vs. Philadelphia --, to be his third assistant. It is a full-time gig, which means Hendrickson will have to give up his job as a divisional representative with the NHL Players Association and his gig with Fox Sports North as part of the Wild broadcasts.

"You walk into it new," Hendrickson said of the transition from being on-ice to being a part of the coaching staff. It hasn't been that long since Hendrickson finished playing; he played his last NHL game with Colorado during the 2003-04 season and played professionally in Austria during the 2006-07 season.

"We feel he is a young guy, energetic," Richards said. "He's a guy who is recently retired from the game. He knows a lot about the game, about the players. We feel there is a lot he can add to our staff."