Article: Dean Evason's Firing Was About More Than Dean Evason

[MacGyver]

What Leipold knows is regardless of what he pays for to put on the ice every season ticket will be sold and every home game sold out. Minnesota fans have PTSD from the North Stars leaving and don't dare stop putting money in Leipold's pocket. 

[FredJohnson]

This seems like something the head coach should do:

"Bill Guerin let everyone on the Minnesota Wild have it after they lost both games in Sweden" 

This is in Tim Schreier's article: 

 

 

[Quebec1648]

15 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

I don't know that Dean did. It looked pretty obvious to me that the expiration date had come and gone. Hynes demands structure. They need structure. They need to practice. Showing up late to the puck drop is unacceptable. A new voice was needed. Hynes was available, there were no hot names out there.  It's that or interim from an internal source. I kind of wanted to see BG roaming the bench.

Is Hynes a better choice than Evason? Hynes had the Devils in last place when he was there, yet Nashville eagerly signed him to a deal that didn`t go very well. I would not have moved on from Evason, just to bring on Hynes. If Guerin or Leopold wanted a new coach, surely Hynes was not the only choice. 

[Willy the poor boy]

7 minutes ago, Quebec1648 said:

Is Hynes a better choice than Evason? Hynes had the Devils in last place when he was there, yet Nashville eagerly signed him to a deal that didn`t go very well. I would not have moved on from Evason, just to bring on Hynes. If Guerin or Leopold wanted a new coach, surely Hynes was not the only choice. 

Just another questionable move by BG. He's really the guy that needed to go.

[Pewterschmidt]

1 hour ago, FredJohnson said:

Losers: veterans (especially Freddie Hockey 😢)

Great point. Hadn’t thought of this. Good for Fred getting paid, bad for BG/Hynzy for having this pylon on roster…until he’s not anymore

[TheGoosesAreLooses]

4 hours ago, Mateo3xm said:

A retooling only works if you have highly talented players already and need to swap out a player or two to improve an area.

Bogosian wasn't the missing piece?! Color me stunned!

[FredJohnson]

1 hour ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Great point. Hadn’t thought of this. Good for Fred getting paid, bad for BG/Hynzy for having this pylon on roster…until he’s not anymore

Ah...poor Freddie. 😂😂😂

[FredJohnson]

1 hour ago, Willy the poor boy said:

Just another questionable move by BG. He's really the guy that needed to go.

They weren't successful with Dean. It can't get worse.

[FredJohnson]

21 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

I'll concede that it is the easiest way to do it, but it isn't true that it's the only way. You can draft in the 20s and be successful, you just have to hit on much more than average. Much more than average.

And having a top end core already, helps a ton.

[mnfaninnc]

On 11/28/2023 at 8:56 AM, MNCountryLife said:

Dean got fired because over the last 2 years he has been unable to fix the PK.  You can't play scared to take a penalty and a PK this bad puts too much pressure on the PP.  In the end... all bad and no capacity to fix got Dean fired.  Let's hope Hynes is better with the PK or things will look exactly the same.

I can accept a take like this. I don't think Deano had answers for the PK, and it looks as if that had been delegated to Bob Woods which would also explain him being shown the exit signs. But, I think it goes deeper than that.

I think you cannot take valuable time off when you've got to fix things. I have no idea how inspiring practice was under Deano, but he didn't like doing it. I'd suggest that not working harder to overcome the losing streak and fix broken things were the main reason for his firing. On top of this, it was pretty obvious that his message was not getting across. So, that might be strike 2. Strike 3 was that after Guerin yelled at everyone, they still came out in Detroit flat. In my book, I would right a K right there.

 

[mnfaninnc]

On 11/28/2023 at 9:35 AM, TheGoosesAreLooses said:

I am not yet on board for the Hynes hiring. He is unproven at best at it feels like more of Guerin's nepotism showing through again than hiring based on the best candidate available. We could have looked at Gallant or Quenneville but instead brought another unproven memory from Guerin's past. Quenneville had a .612 reg season win record and three cups to his name (but is . Gallant has a worse record in the reg season (.576) but more consistent winning in post season with .517 across his post season appearances. 

Hynes feels like a cop out and going back to the country club well. Run the team like a f*cking business already not a small town community association. BG hiring his buddies is what is putting us further into this mess and I doubt hiring more of them will get us out.

Gerard Gallant is making $3.5m to stay at home on his couch until '25-26. That may have been out of Shooter's price range.

Joel Quenneville is 65 years old and may not have passed the reinstatement required by Bettman to coach again. He also appears to be under contract through this season sitting around cashing a $5.25m check sitting in the sandy beaches of FL at this time.

It is highly possible that neither of these guys were truly on the market to coach again, and would have required a lot more $ than Hynes got. Hynes will make slightly more than Q in 3 years. 

I didn't realize Gallant's contract was so long, but I'm pretty sure the Wild were not giving him that salary. There is also a chance that Shooter wanted to and was vetoed by the owner. This will remain in the cone of silence if it happened.

[raithis]

1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said:

I can accept a take like this. I don't think Deano had answers for the PK, and it looks as if that had been delegated to Bob Woods which would also explain him being shown the exit signs. But, I think it goes deeper than that.

I think you cannot take valuable time off when you've got to fix things. I have no idea how inspiring practice was under Deano, but he didn't like doing it. I'd suggest that not working harder to overcome the losing streak and fix broken things were the main reason for his firing. On top of this, it was pretty obvious that his message was not getting across. So, that might be strike 2. Strike 3 was that after Guerin yelled at everyone, they still came out in Detroit flat. In my book, I would right a K right there.

 

That and I feel like everything I've observed indicates Evason's approach was mostly hands off, mostly overseeing and less jumping in to help turn things around.  Maybe I'm way off, but if someone under you is struggling, you jump in and help.  I felt like the PK issues were left to Woods and the players.  Evason might have had some input, but it didn't seem like he was really interacting much.  Obviously I can only see what's going on during the game, but there already seemed like more coach-player interaction during the game than I'm used to seeing with Dean.  It happened before too, but it appeared more frequent.  Though I suppose it could just be a couple new coaches trying to understand their players more by discussing things in the moment.

I'm still unsure about Hynes, but if he's going to work with his players to give them and the team more chances to be successful, that's an improvement.  I feel like the loss of people like Dumba, who was more of a voice in the locker room, has shown that Dean's hands off mentality (based on my perception, I may be wrong) falls flat when the leaders on the team roster tend to be quieter.  Most of the roster seems disinclined to say something.  Foligno comes to mind, but I feel like most of the rest just kind of stick to themselves.  If players on the team don't keep the team more as a group, them it's up to the coaches to do more of that too.  Evason just does not seem good at that.

[Pewterschmidt]

32 minutes ago, raithis said:

I felt like the PK issues were left to Woods and the players.  Evason might have had some input, but it didn't seem like he was really interacting much.

Russo made the assertion on his Worst Seats podcast that BG wanted to fire Woods end of last season, but Evason went full ride-or-die for Woods and made the case the all 10-12 PK goals against were not the 'systems' fault.  If that's true, Dean might want a do-over on that.  Also if true, more evidence of Dean's inflexibility and aversion to change.  Dean's on a FL beach right now waiting for his next job.

[Pewterschmidt]

35 minutes ago, raithis said:

I'm still unsure about Hynes,

As we all are.  I think Hynzy got BG's call because he's a low risk (BG knows and already has a vibe with him) hire and he'll cast him off 1.5 seasons from now if this thing continues to go sideways.  97's voice becomes very important in next coach hiring.

[Protec]

Yes. I think despite what Guerin says, he needed a "wheels to get to work" guy. Not the "ultimate mint condition classic" you've wanted your whole life.

Starting back a couple weeks ago I concluded these two years are gonna be difficult for MN no matter which vets or rookies are playing. Gus still has lots to prove and Boldy too. Faber isn't ready to dominate the NHL straight to the Stanley Cup Final and Dallas & Vegas are still good.

I'm just hoping for the best the remainder of this season. Like to see the newly signed vets find a rhythm and prove they're worth the contracts. So far that hasn't been too bad IMO. Mojo and Gus stepping up and finding another level would be pretty big for MN.

[Up North Guy]

7 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

I can accept a take like this. I don't think Deano had answers for the PK, and it looks as if that had been delegated to Bob Woods which would also explain him being shown the exit signs. But, I think it goes deeper than that.

I think you cannot take valuable time off when you've got to fix things. I have no idea how inspiring practice was under Deano, but he didn't like doing it. I'd suggest that not working harder to overcome the losing streak and fix broken things were the main reason for his firing. On top of this, it was pretty obvious that his message was not getting across. So, that might be strike 2. Strike 3 was that after Guerin yelled at everyone, they still came out in Detroit flat. In my book, I would right a K right there.

 

According to Russo BG wanted to fire Woods last year but Deano was adamant that they do not, so BG didn't and warned Deano that it was on him.

[Mateo3xm]

On 11/28/2023 at 11:22 AM, mnfaninnc said:

I'll concede that it is the easiest way to do it, but it isn't true that it's the only way. You can draft in the 20s and be successful, you just have to hit on much more than average. Much more than average.

That is a true statement.

The league is far too competitive thou, with that type of handicap their chances are astronomically small in my opinion.

I don’t want to have to wait 100 years for the stars to align perfectly for them to somehow reach the end. I’d rather they do it the tried and true way that gets the best results.

[Mateo3xm]

I think it’s important to note that this team may never get a high caliber coach such as Gallant because no coach in their right mind is going to take a job where the owner refuses to do a proper rebuild and is constantly “retooling” which could get success but never the type that we are all looking for in a Cup.

can you imagine being a coach for a GM and owner that thinks like that?

if you don’t squeeze the juice hard enough and barely make it into the playoffs, coaching a mediocre team, you run the risk of being blamed for everything and get fired.

i think this team will constantly get brand new coaches just because they are willing to put up with this to get a foot in the door to get experience. 
 

the coaching job in Mn will be a constant revolving door of new coaches trying to get into the league.

[mnfaninnc]

13 hours ago, Mateo3xm said:

I don’t want to have to wait 100 years for the stars to align perfectly for them to somehow reach the end. I’d rather they do it the tried and true way that gets the best results.

But, is it really tried and true? Look at Edmonton's record, Buffalo's? They've gone through a lot of pain when it didn't really work out for them. They had to do a rebuild on top of a rebuild and Buffalo still hasn't made the playoffs. 

Detroit looks like they're finding their way. But Ottawa has been painful. Tampa Bay didn't really do it this way either, they hit on some very nice early-mid picks. I don't think it's as tried and true as you're thinking. And, I haven't even mentioned AZ. 

The thing is, any way you approach this, luck must be involved. It would be complete irony if the pandemic was our luck.

[Mateo3xm]

On 12/1/2023 at 9:43 AM, mnfaninnc said:

But, is it really tried and true? Look at Edmonton's record, Buffalo's? They've gone through a lot of pain when it didn't really work out for them. They had to do a rebuild on top of a rebuild and Buffalo still hasn't made the playoffs. 

"With an average age of 25.5, the Buffalo Sabres are the NHL's youngest team heading into the 2023-24 season."

As far as the Sabers goes, this is the reason.

in my opinion, in the next 1-4 years the sabers are going to be scary.

 

they are absolutely stacked with high high caliber young players.

T.Thompson is a legit #1 center

D Cozens is having a rough year but he's already had a 31 goal season and he's 22.

Both Thompson and Cozens are 6ft 3 or taller.

MiddIstdet is a 50-65 pt 3rd line center.

They have basically two big number 1 defenseman with Dahlin and Power and some other defensive defenseman.

Alex Tuch, JJ Peterka, J Skinner, and Olofson are all wingers who will, or have nearly scored 30 goals and 50-70pts

That’s a group of absolutely insane young players.

obviously nothing is 100% guaranteed but it certainly increases the chances exponentially.

 

 

[Mateo3xm]

On 12/1/2023 at 9:43 AM, mnfaninnc said:

But, is it really tried and true? Look at Edmonton's record, Buffalo's? They've gone through a lot of pain when it didn't really work out for them. They had to do a rebuild on top of a rebuild and Buffalo still hasn't made the playoffs. 

Detroit looks like they're finding their way. But Ottawa has been painful. Tampa Bay didn't really do it this way either, they hit on some very nice early-mid picks. I don't think it's as tried and true as you're thinking. And, I haven't even mentioned AZ. 

The thing is, any way you approach this, luck must be involved. It would be complete irony if the pandemic was our luck.

As far as the Oilers go, they are one of the worst managed teams in the NHL.

they still think you can be an all offensive team, play no defense and expect the goalie to bail them out every game. They chew through goalies like I’ve never seen a team do.

they've had this model for decades it seems. Think of the solid goalies they’ve destroyed or hindered while playing on that team. Ben Scrivens, Talbot, Devan Dubnyk etc. look at those goalies numbers before, during and after they played on the oilers and you will notice a theme.

when those goalies were playing on defensively responsible teams they were very high quality.

Ottawa is another young up and coming team that will be scary soon but needs to  be better defensively.

Tampa got one of the best number 1 defenseman in the nhl in the first round second overall.

they got one of the best goal scorers in the nhl in the last 10 years at 1st overall. He’s second to Ovi. Don’t believe me? https://www.statmuse.com/nhl/ask/nhl-most-goals-since-2010

so you can’t say they didn’t benefit drastically from tanking at one point.
 

Tampa, in my opinion, is one of the best evaluators of prospect talent in the NHL. They are able to pick players like Point, Kuch, Cirelli and others after they had been passed over dozens of times.

once you tank and get those pieces you need, the next thing you need is luck in order to win a Cup, that’s how I see it anyway. It’s ridiculously competitive and you need every base covered.

 

 

[Up North Guy]

8 hours ago, Mateo3xm said:

"With an average age of 25.5, the Buffalo Sabres are the NHL's youngest team heading into the 2023-24 season."

As far as the Sabers goes, this is the reason.

in my opinion, in the next 1-4 years the sabers are going to be scary.

 

they are absolutely stacked with high high caliber young players.

T.Thompson is a legit #1 center

D Cozens is having a rough year but he's already had a 31 goal season and he's 22.

Both Thompson and Cozens are 6ft 3 or taller.

MiddIstdet is a 50-65 pt 3rd line center.

They have basically two big number 1 defenseman with Dahlin and Power and some other defensive defenseman.

Alex Tuch, JJ Peterka, J Skinner, and Olofson are all wingers who will, or have nearly scored 30 goals and 50-70pts

That’s a group of absolutely insane young players.

obviously nothing is 100% guaranteed but it certainly increases the chances exponentially.

 

 

You are correct regarding the Sabres current status. I think the point was, however, that this is the umpteenth rebuilding year for the franchise. And it is still just a promise of success vs a current reality. Rebuilds are something that sound great and when they work it is a wonderful thing. The reality is that they don't always, or perhaps even often,  work. It is a crapshoot. There are so many variables that go into a successful rebuild that it is mind boggling. If a team misses out on one, two or in some case any of the variables, they get to suffer through low success purgatory before entering another rebuild.

[Pewterschmidt]

“The same goes for Foligno, who scored 23 goals in 74 games during a breakout 2021-22 season but has nine goals in his last 86 games, including two goals in 21 games this season.“

Bill, tell me again why we had to lock up Foligno for $4M/yr for next 15 years

[Will D. Ness]

11 minutes ago, Up North Guy said:

Rebuilds are something that sound great and when they work it is a wonderful thing. The reality is that they don't always, or perhaps even often,  work. It is a crapshoot. There are so many variables that go into a successful rebuild that it is mind boggling. If a team misses out on one, two or in some case any of the variables, they get to suffer through low success purgatory before entering another rebuild.

It all really comes down to luck and tanking is a methodology that increases that luck... very marginally.  Everyone is looking for the magic bullet but only a team or two will hit it per generation... hence the "generational" talent narrative.  

That pretty much means that the other what 10 "rebuilding" teams will suck for a generation.

Now anyone wanting the 2023 Wild to tank is looking for very marginal gains at the cost of having a non-competitive crap product on the ice.  It's kind of a dumb move, but not so dumb when the 2023 Wild were a non-competitive crap product which we saw for 20 games.  It might not be so dumb if it becomes clear we won't make the playoffs too.  

I think somewhere in the margins there might be a case for playing youth vs playing vets and hopefully our new coach finds these little nuggets of opportunity whereas Evason was close-minded.

[FredJohnson]

On 12/3/2023 at 3:19 AM, Mateo3xm said:

in my opinion, in the next 1-4 years the sabers are going to be scary.

In other words...just like all the other rebuilding teams.