Wild HBcommunity: Wild’s Late Season Collapse Set Stage for Desert Desperation
Minnesota Wild Need a Win Tonight in Phoenix
The Minnesota Wild (37-26-11 85 points, 7th in Western Conference, 4th in Central Division) is again in a late season tail spin that has seen a double digit points lead over the teams chasing them in the Western Conference playoff picture evaporate. The Phoenix Coyotes (36-26-12 84 points, 8th in Western Conference, 4th in Pacific Division) have not only closed to within 1 point of the Wild but they are playing some of their best hockey of the season ahead of tonight’s crucial matchup in the desert.
The Coyotes are 7 - 2 – 1 in their last 10 games and have a home record of 21 - 12 – 3 this season while the Wild have gone 3 - 4 – 3 in their last 10 games with a road record of 14 - 17 – 6 this season. Tonight’s matchup is truly a 4 point swing type of game for both of these franchises as the look to solidify their place in the Western Conference playoffs with a mere 7 games left in the regular season for both of these teams.
Yeo Knows Best
Far too often in Minnesota Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo’s run as the bench boss for the State of Hockey’s favorite club, has there been a failure to respond to performance and production issues. Beyond the reasonable peak and valleys that are common during an 82 game schedule, Wild veteran players have been employed in roles and line combinations that their abilities and current performance just did not justify.
Every NHL head coach faces situations in which they are forced to adjust their lines and evaluate how their current roster fits together. Yeo has compiled a significant and damning history of failure to act when he has players in his lineups failing to produce or fulfill roles that could have been better assigned to players based upon merit and production.
The obvious example to every Wild fan would be Dany Heatley but the more damning situation will most likely prove to be Kyle Brodziak. While trying to reinforce that Brodziak’s role as a shutdown center outweighs his dramatic drop off in production and performance, Yeo has refused to employ a lineup that could have been clearly more talented with younger players like Charlie Coyle and Erik Haula playing in the middle of the ice.
The truth is that Heatley has been a staple in the Wild’s lineup because the boss man is paying him $7mil/yr and he was ineligible for a compliance buyout due to injury. The reason Brodziak hasn’t been a healthy scratch this year or last year is a mystery to just about everyone. Brodziak enjoyed a career season in 2012-13 scoring 22 goals and 44 points after totaling 16 goals and 37 points in the 2010-11 season. Brodziak was signed to a 3 year deal in 2012 because he looked to be a break through NHL centerman but nothing could have been further from the truth.
I think for casual Wild fans, it is a lot easier to focus outrage and displeasure with lightning rod Heatley but the greatest indictment of Yeo is not pulling veteran players from the lineup when they have earned it. No player is better described as underperforming than Brodziak as his production last season and this year has completely fallen off a cliff. Brodziak gets described as a defensive stopper and big body in the lineup but the truth be told he has squandered offensive opportunities and become a liability to the team with Yeo avoiding action nearly at all costs.
I think anyone that has followed the Wild has a list of disappointing personnel decisions, line combinations, and role type decisions that have been made by Yeo. Another lightning rod situation for the Wild during the Yeo’s time on the job has been his handling of Mikko Koivu. The Wild’s captain plays a very strong two way brand of hockey but he often has lapses of offense that can bog down not only his line but the entire team. Koivu is a warrior but his skating and health can put him in a position to be less effective with the puck and Yeo has refused to address it.
When healthy enough to be in the lineup for the Wild, Koivu has only ever been demoted from the top line because of the world class play of Mikael Granlund this season returning from the Olympics. Koivu has definitely seen dips in his production and effectiveness leading the fan base to wonder why he is immune to Yeo intervention. Truth to be told if Yeo avoids Brodziak demotion and healthy scratch like the plague, he has never once considered bumping Kaptain Koivu down the depth chart which is what will ultimately be his undoing in his first opportunity as an NHL head coach.
Let’s All Hope Our Favorite Squad Wakes Up Tonight in the Desert!
Just My Take, Tony Dean
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