Wild hire head coach, fire Aeros GM

Russo is reporting that Todd Richards has been offered the Wild's head coaching job, to pretty much nobody's surprise. The team announced they will be introducing the new coach Tuesday at noon in Minnesota.

Richards was the coach of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (and took them to the Calder Cup Finals last season) when the Wild's new general manager, Chuck Fletcher, was the GM of the WB/S Penguins. So they have a good relationship already.

Richards' style is billed as up-tempo, go-go-go, which will probably blow the minds of most anybody whose been watching the Wild and the suffocating defensive style Jacques Lemaire brought to the table. (Then again, how much go-go-go talent was he provided by the organization? And how much will Richards really have to work with?)

The first bit of fallout from this was the firing of Tom Lynn, Wild assistant GM and GM of the Aeros. He was basically, along with the coaching staff in Houston (particularly Troy Ward), the architect of the Aeros, so his departure means the trickle-down effect will likely keep rolling ever closer to Houston.

Nothing has been said yet about what is to become of Kevin Constantine and his staff. Some conjecture is that his style is too defensive and won't prepare the kids here for Richards' style. I tend to disagree with that perspective, however, as I think the tools KC is giving these guys translate into any system. Every hockey player needs to be detail-oriented and defensively responsible. If you watched the Stanley Cup Finals the last couple of weeks, that was clear, right?

Things should start to shake out pretty quickly now. The entry draft is less than 2 weeks away and free agency is right on its heels, so AHL ringer types of guys should start getting signed and we can start to see the team unfold. Of course, Tom Lynn's replacement will drive that aspect of the signings, so that hiring is one we'll be keeping a close eye on and keep you posted.

Exciting times for the Wild organization, top to bottom.

Wild/Aeros Goaltending Situation; Tom Lynn's job security

John Shipley of the St. Paul Pioneer Press muses on his blog today about the fate of Josh Harding and, in relation, where the Wild think their minor league goalies stand in terms of moving up.

His assessment pretty much matches mine. Neither Brusty nor Dimples are technically solid enough to get it on full time in the NHL, even as a back-up. I think Schaefer probably is, though I didn't realize he was making so much coin. That's damn good for the AHL, so good for him.

Also, we learn that it's an MCL injury that sent Dimples out at the end of the third in Game 4.

Looking Ahead

My #1 concern is about goaltending depth next season. This year and last, the Aeros had Dimples down in the ECHL to call up and provide pretty good support in a pinch. The Wild haven't drafted a goalie since drafting Niko Hovinen in 2006, and he's been playing in Finland all this time. (AeroFinn... how about a stats update on the kid. My Finnish is rusty.)

The team has not had him over for Prospects Camp since 2007, so who knows what their intentions are with him.

Without a doubt, the team needs to beef up the goaltending ranks either through draft or trade or both (though draft will be too late to help this season due to age restrictions). I personally am still quite scarred from the 06-07 season when Harding got called up with no help behind him, and then turned around and was immediately spoiled by the amazing Schaefer-Brust tandem last season.

It was more of a mixed bag this year, but imagine if the Aeros hadn't had Khudobin to call upon. Wowza. Anyway, more on this later as we take a look at how next years Aeros stack up.
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Meanwhile, from Russo at the Star Tribune today, reports of Tom Lynn's job security as GM of the Aeros may have been overstated last week, as Chuck Fletcher, the shiny new GM for the Wild, is saying that nobody is necessarily in or out and that those decisions will come in due time:

To clarify one thing that was reported earlier this week, [Fletcher] has decided no staff member is leaving or staying. He’s been in the office for three hours total, and has met a precious few. He said there’s no reason for anybody to be walking on eggshells, but stories that he’s told anybody they’re safe or unsafe were premature. What does that mean? He’ll meet with staff over the next several weeks, ask a ton of questions and then things “will become apparent to me,” and that does include Tom Lynn and Tommy Thompson.

So, maybe the Aeros summer won't be as stable as we might have expected. Won't that be fun?

And The New GM Is...

It's official. The new GM of the Minnesota Wild is Chuck Fletcher.

That is all.

Wild GM announcement tomorrow

The Minnesota Wild will be announcing their new General Manager tomorrow at 4 p.m. Central in Minnesota.

Russo is saying (from the beach in Honolulu, the poor dear) that his sources inform him that the new chief will be Penguins' assistant general manager Chuck Fletcher.

We'll keep you posted on what the trickle-down effect of this hiring will be. New honchos usually want their own people around them, so we'll see if there's turnover at the top of the Aeros food chain at Tom Lynn's position.