WildHBcommunity: Ghosts of Seasons Past Haunt Mike Yeo
The Minnesota Wild must act decisively to remedy brutal play
I am in no mood to have the corrective action taken by Minnesota Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo and General Manager Mike Yeo be a callup of
Stephane Veilleux and demotion of
Erik Haula. I have seen this story before, the team plummets in the standings and Veilleux is brought in to provide energy and play the right way.
Don’t get me wrong I mean no disrespect to the fan favorite Veilleux, he will definitely kill himself tonight trying to stir up some emotions and possibly energize the punch-less Wild squad. Being honest though any adjustment to the lineup that doesn’t start with removing
Dany Heatley is a hollow move in my mind. Instead of empowering players that will be future contributors to the organization, Yeo seems to be attempting insulate himself with veterans that drink his kool aid.
The other issue for this team looming large right now is the play of veteran netminder
Niklas Backstrom. During the offseason it appeared Backstrom would be moving on in his career as an unrestricted free agent. Instead Backstrom resigned with the Wild in what initially seemed to be a cap friendly deal cutting his salary in half while agree to a 3yr/$3.5Mil deal. Unfortunately Backstrom has looked every bit of his 35 years old so far this season. The Wild has been bailed out by the outstanding play of
Josh Harding but the uncertainty at the position has to be keeping Fletcher and the front office on edge.
Another aspect of the Wild that must be worked out is how severely their possession numbers have declined since the franchise best first two months of this season. Sure the loss of
Mikael Granlund can certainly be attributed to that decline but this is a greater issue than just one player. It is a familiar issue for the team as well, the same drop off in play occurred last season with
Matt Cullen out of action.
The new system that Yeo touted near the beginning of the system which seemed to completely transform the Wild’s identity has been missing in action for the greater part of a month and a half now. The Wild has been outplayed in nearly every aspect as losses have mounted recently. Even in victories it seems the Wild needs to have their back up against the wall to elevate their energy and effort to score goals and create in the opponent’s zone.
Ghosts of Seasons Past Haunt Mike Yeo
I think that Yeo is coaching on borrowed time at this point because a collapse of effort, confidence, and production is basically how anyone paying attention could describe his previous two seasons at the helm for the Wild. The common explanation in his first season was a lack of talent and injuries being the reason around the Wild entering December during the 2011-12 season with the best record in the NHL only to finish last in their division and 12th in the Western Conference.
Then last year the lockout shortened season was a convenient distraction from what truly occurred, another near epic collapse by a Yeo led team. The Wild backed into the playoffs last year securing the 8th seed on the last day of the regular season. There would be no explaining away the severe beating the Wild took at the hands of the Chicago BlackHawks in their first round playoffs series.
This summer Fletcher and Wild Owner Craig Leipold decided to bring back Yeo despite calls for the organization to move. It seemed strange for the Wild to push the public relations so hard featuring the coach on the first “Becoming Wild” of the year as well. I must admit I even ate some crow earlier this year as the Wild performed so well and their play looked like no team I had seen on the ice here in the State of Hockey BUT now we are in the midst of a familiar melt down that has become a signature of the Yeo years.
Can the Wild turn it Around in 2014
There are many avenues of approach in my mind to create change for this scuffling team but the adversities are great as well. The major stumbling block currently for the Wild is the contract and performance of Heatley. For no reason I can fathom, Yeo has continued to allow Heatley to be in the lineup despite a clear lack of regard for the system or the fact that anyone paying attention can see he is checked out. Heatley is counting $7.5 million against the Wild’s salary cap and there is not a general manger in the league that would considered saddling his team with that burden. Heatley even if he was placed on waivers and sent to Iowa would have nearly $6 million or more of his cap hit still count against the Wild’s cap.
The only scenario in which the Wild get out from under Heatley’s contract this season is for him to be placed on the long term injured list at some point. I realize that is contingent on a number of factors but that would be a game changer for the Wild’s ability to maneuver this season. The other side of the coin is because it is a long shot to free up that cap space, this could possibly just be a bridge year for the franchise. The roster from this season into 2014-15 will be dramatically different no doubt in my mind with Heatley,
Clayton Stoner,
Mike Rupp,
Nate Prosser, and
Zenon Konopka all on their way out the door.
So maybe Yeo gets this team back on the rails here soon and they rattle off a string of victories but I have to wonder how much can be expected of this fragmented squad especially facing down the Western Conference this year. The looming negativity cloud is growing with the lack of goal production, Heatley bogging down every line he plays on, and Backstrom’s inability to put together any confidence and consistency. It is just mind boggling to watch young players come up flash ability and potential only to be shuffled back to Iowa while lesser effort and talent types remain on the Wild lineup.
Just My Take,
Tony Dean
@TonyDean1204
Minnesota Wild Blogger • 
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