PHERSY:Feldy, I've given Wild coach Mike Yeo more leeway than most hockey fans. I've taken the wait-and-see approach, and all along I felt he deserved until the end of the season to turn things around. That changed Tuesday night. I have joined the "Yeo Must Go" bandwagon. The Wild's effort Tuesday was deplorable. They were playing a San Jose team that had played the night before and was playing its third game in four nights. There is zero excuse for getting out-skated by that team, particularly at home.
FELDY: Too many times in recent seasons, we've reached a point where we've had to ask if the Wild's coach should be fired. They have too much talent to underachieve this badly. I've always disliked the idea of bringing in a retread head coach just for the sake of making a change, but the make-up of this team cries out for a coach who's been around the block. Who could take over right now? Would the Wild be better off waiting until the season is over so they can look at a larger pool of candidates?
PHERSY:I'm with you Feldy, and I agree ... a retread is what this team needs. The Wild need someone who has a track record as a head coach in the NHL. I haven't examined possible candidates, partly because I don't truly believe this team is going to make a change during season. But that is exactly what's needed to salvage the 2014-15 campaign. The way this team is playing, they will not make the playoffs. And I can only point at Yeo ... well, and Mr. Koivu. If Yeo is fired, Koivu should go with him.
FELDY: At the very least, it's time to take the "C" off No. 9's sweater. Koivu can still be a valuable player, but right now $6.75 million per year is getting the Wild a good faceoff man and a good defensive center. Those qualities sound like a third- or fourth-line center who makes about $1.5 million per year. This is clearly Zach Parise and Ryan Suter's team, but simply moving a letter from Koivu's sweater to Parise's won't fix all of the issues. There is no quick fix, but a good start would be improved play from Darcy Kuemper and Nik Backstrom.
PHERSY:Everyone wants to keep coming back to Koivu winning draws as a reason to keep him around. That's not enough. And I'd argue he's no longer a good defensive center. He earned that reputation, but his "lazy" penalties in recent weeks tell a different story. He's turning the puck over, and his teammates are growing increasingly frustrated. Koivu is not a third-liner or a fourth-liner in this league. If he's not producing like a first- or second-liner, his value is almost zero. But I didn't intend to make this column about Koivu. To me, this team is teetering on disaster, and that lies solely on Yeo. It's time, officially, for him to move on.
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FELDY: It hasn't felt like the pressure of potentially losing his job has bothered Yeo until now. Maybe it still doesn't, but Wednesday's meltdown at practice, in which Yeo used more curse words than non-curse words, felt forced. It's fair to question if the Wild aren't as talented as we think they are, but the truth is, we saw just how good they can be during last postseason. They're underachieving. The owner has spent the money, the GM has built the team he wanted to build. They can't fire 23 players. It's on the coaching staff to get them to play together. Yeo doesn't deserve to go, but that might be the only option.
